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Med Mal News

Med Mal Jury Verdicts in PA Hit 15-Year Low

According to statistics recently published by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), 2015 saw the state's fewest medical malpractice jury verdicts in 15 years. For example, in the years 2000 to 2003, the average number of medical malpractice verdicts was 326, while in 2015 only 101 medical malpractice verdicts were returned. Of these latter decisions, only 22 went to the plaintiff side. The slide in med-mal verdicts may be attributable to the rising costs of litigation in Pennsylvania, which have prompted many potential litigants to opt for mediation or arbitration as an alternative to the court system. In addition, some, such as plaintiff attorney John P. Gismondi, feel that the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act's (MCARE) requirement of expert certification prior to the filing of a suit has reduced the number of frivolous lawsuits, leaving behind only the stronger cases. “They tend to be, as a group, better cases than what existed in the system 10 years ago,” Gismondi said.

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HIPAA and Information After the Violence in Orlando

In the aftermath of the June mass shootings at Orlando nightclub Pulse, the town's mayor Buddy Dyer ' fearing that victims' families and friends might be left in dark as to their loved ones' conditions ' asked the federal government to waive the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), to allow medical facilities to release patient information to them. It later became clear to all concerned that a waiver was unnecessary, as HIPAA already allows medical care providers to release general health status information to the public and the press (such as stating that a particular patient is in in stable or critical condition) and to disclose to family members and certain others more detailed information.

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