PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Republican in the Pennsylvania Senate wants to amend the State Constitution to prohibit “venue shopping,” where lawyers file civil lawsuits in counties where juries tend to be more generous.
In 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rescinded its own rule that medical malpractice suits be filed in the county where the alleged malpractice occurred.
State Senator Cris Dush has introduced a Constitutional Amendment, stating lawyers file those cases in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia because juries tend to side more often with plaintiffs and generally award bigger judgments.
Testifying at the hearing, OB-GYN and Pennsylvania Medical Society board member Ashley Wilkerson says that’s caused Pennsylvania’s liability premiums to be among the highest in the nation and has created health care deserts, especially in maternity care.
“Obstetrics is a field where tragic outcomes can occur despite appropriate care, and our system fails to distinguish between poor outcomes and negligence,” Wilkerson said.
Bucks County Democrat Steve Santasiero says the proposed amendment is dangerous not only because it isn’t limited to medical malpractice and would apply to all civil suits, but also, “because the Constitution very wisely vested in the courts the ability to make its own rules as a matter of separation of powers, which is a pretty fundamental aspect of constitutional law in the United States.”
A Constitutional amendment needs to pass both the State House and State Senate in two consecutive sessions, then it goes on the ballot for all voters to decide.