Medical Liability Venue Rules Topic of Legislative Budget and Finance Committee Hearing
Harrisburg, PA. The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR) will closely monitor next week’s Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) hearings examining the impact that adopting broader venue rules will have on health care in Pennsylvania. PCCJR will be joined by several partner organizations, all united in opposition to the proposed change. The two-day hearing is scheduled to take place, Tuesday, June 25 and Wednesday, June 26 starting at 9am in Hearing Room 8E-B of the East Wing of the Capitol.
In February, organizations from across Pennsylvania joined forces to voice their strong opposition to a proposed court rule that would return venue shopping to medical liability cases. The proposed Venue Change Amendment to Pa.R.C.P. Nos. 1006, 2130, 2156, and 2179 of the Civil Procedure Rules, set forth by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, would gut the most significant reform that provided relief from the medical malpractice crisis of the early 2000s. The current venue rule, adopted in 2003, stopped jackpot seeking attorneys from filing cases in courts far away from where the cause of action arose.
“The Senate heard our collective voices loud and clear and put the brakes on the proposed rule change by introducing Senate Resolution 20 (SR 20),” said Curt Schroder, PCCJR’s executive director. “Our hope is this hearing will paint an unbiased and accurate picture of what could happen should the Supreme Court return to the broad venue rule that allowed forum shopping for jackpot verdicts, which caused medical liability premiums to soar.”
SR 20 directs the LBFC to conduct a study of the impact that a return to venue shopping in medical professional liability actions will have on access to medical care and maintenance of health care systems.
PCCJR will live-tweet during the two-day hearing. Additionally, PCCJR’s Executive Director, Curt Schroder, will be available to media for perspective, reactions, and comments before and after the hearings.
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The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform is a 501(c )(6), not-for-profit, nonpartisan advocacy organization comprised of a diverse group of organizations and individuals committed to bringing fairness to Pennsylvania’s courts by raising awareness of civil justice issues and advocating for legal reform. Additional information is available at http://www.paforciviljusticereform.org, https://www.facebook.com/paciviljustice/ or https://twitter.com/paciviljustice.
Curt Schroder
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform
(717) 461-3577
