COVID-19 has brought to light a whole new cohort of first responders! Health care providers, grocery store workers and truck drivers who are delivering goods are a new kind of front-line. PCCJR is in full agreement with these impassioned comments by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo regarding the doctors, nurses and other essential service providers…
Coalition Updates: Health Care
PA Supreme Court Closes Courts, Cancels April Arguments
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has canceled arguments in late April as part of a statewide effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The cases that were scheduled for argument will be decided on the briefs already submitted to the courts unless parties request otherwise. The Supreme Court declared a statewide judicial emergency on March 18,…
Senate Judiciary Committee Postpones Hearing on LBFC’s Venue Report
The Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the LBFC’s medical liability venue report, originally scheduled for March 23, has been postponed. PCCJR will update you as soon as it is rescheduled. As Pennsylvania continues to deal with the threat posed by the COVID-19 virus, we will all be adjusting to the new reality of schedule disruption.…
Supreme Court’s Decision Striking Down Statute of Repose Will Stand
We sure would have liked a second bite at this apple. Instead, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court gave trial lawyers an early Valentine’s Day gift on January 31 when it denied our requested re-argument in Yanakos v. UPMC. The high court refused to hear re-arguments on its earlier ruling which found the statute of repose in medical liability…
NEWS RELEASE: LBFC Report on Venue: Doesn’t Make Case for Return to Venue Shopping; Leave Well Enough Alone
HARRISBURG, PA — A coalition of stakeholders concerned about Pennsylvania’s health care and litigation climate said a report issuedtoday by the Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) demonstrates no reason to change the venue rule. The medical liability climate has been stable since the venue rule went into effect in the early 2000s and the…
Philadelphia Judge Slashes $8 Billion Risperdal Verdict
There was a glimmer of light out of Philadelphia recently when Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Kenneth Powell reduced the $8 billion punitive damages verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. The outrageous verdict shocked the country and helped the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas earn the dubious distinction as the #1…