In the two years since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rescinded the medical malpractice venue rule, the number of cases filed in Philadelphia’s court has exploded.
The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas tracks the filing of medical liability cases monthly since. The latest (December 2024) medical liability case filing chart from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (below) vividly tells the story of the past two years since the rescission of the rule. In 2023, a total of 544 medical malpractice cases were filed in Philadelphia, averaging 45 cases per month. In 2024, 616 medical liability cases were filed in Philadelphia, averaging 51 cases per month. The Philadelphia Common Pleas chart demonstrates that this is a significant increase of medical liability cases from both the Covid and pre-Covid years.
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PCCJR has reviewed filing documents over the past two years to determine where the cause of action arose. Notably, when reviewing the cases where a determination could be made (not always possible from reviewing Writs of Summons) 41% of the cases filed in Philadelphia in 2023 had causes of action arising from outside of the city. Our review of 2024 cases found an even greater percentage of cases, 47%, had causes of action arising outside of the city and therefore could not have been filed in Philadelphia prior to the rescission of the medical liability venue rule.
As we’ve noted before, Philadelphia is highly sought after by plaintiffs’ attorneys due to its reputation for high nuclear verdicts and plaintiff friendly rulings. This trend is highly concerning and spells trouble for health care providers and patient access to specialized services.
PCCJR has been tracking these cases in preparation for the Civil Procedural Rules Committee’s review of the recission of the venue rule. While the Committee has not released any information regarding the duration and format of the review process, PCCJR is compiling a thorough report detailing our findings and the negative impacts this rampant forum shopping is having on the business and health care communities.