Last week, Democrats in the state House of Representatives voted to block consideration of a critical amendment that would have restored the state’s medical malpractice venue rule. Speaker Joanna McClinton ruled the amendment out of order, meaning the amendment could not be voted. Every House Democrat voted to uphold her ruling when it was appealed.
Specifically, this amendment would have placed the language of the now rescinded medical malpractice venue rule (which required that medical malpractice cases be filed only where the cause of action arose) in the state Constitution. If enacted, this language would have helped avert the looming med mal crisis being created by venue shopping and the rise of nuclear verdicts emanating out of Philadelphia. Adding the med mal venue language to the constitution would also prevent the PA Supreme Court from striking it down again.
PCCJR appreciates the efforts of Rep. Charity Krupa to appeal the ruling of the Speaker. Her effort was voted down on a party line vote.
You can see how House members voted on Rep. Krupa’s appeal here. A YES vote was a vote to uphold the Speaker’s ruling. A NO vote was a vote to allow the amendment to be voted.