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Pennsylvania medical malpractice laws
The following standards govern medical malpractice suits in Pennsylvania:
Statute of Limitations
Medical malpractice actions must be brought within 2 years of the date of the original injury, or the date the plaintiff first discovered the injury.
Damage Caps
Pennsylvania does not limit compensatory damage awards. However, punitive damages may not be awarded except when the malpractice was a result of deliberate misconduct or reckless disregard. Punitive damages may not exceed 200% of compensatory damages unless intentional misconduct is found.
Joint Defendant Liability
In the state of Pennsylvania more than one defendant can be named in a medical malpractice case; therefore, liability can be divided proportionately among all defendants. This does not apply if one defendant is found to be 60% or more at fault, or if a defendant is found guilty of deliberate misconduct.
Expert Witnesses
Attorneys must file certificates of merit regarding the qualifications of expert witnesses they wish to use. Experts must be actively engaged in practice or teaching in their field or retired less than five years. The court may waive these requirements if the expert provides sufficient evidence of his or her qualifications.
Pennsylvania - News Articles
On February 29, 2016, Andrew J. Martin, then 70 years old, was brought into the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Margaret Martin, his wife, and their three children, were under the impression that he would be quickly returning from the hospital in good health. But after spending 77 days at the
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A 5-year old Pennsylvania boy was recently awarded $1.1 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit over a surgical procedure that left him with a brain injury. At only 11-months old, Keonte Graham suffered from sleep apnea so badly that his parents took him to Dr. Andrew Shapiro in 2007 for consultation and to find a
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