Last Updated: Jun 6, 2024
PAMED and the American Medical Association recently filed an amici curiae (“friends of the court”) brief in the Pennsylvania Superior Court, asking the court to order a new trial in a case that produced the largest medical malpractice verdict in Pennsylvania history. The case, Dajah Hagans v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, et al., concerns the treatment that J.H., a now-five-year-old boy, received at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (“HUP”) at the time of his birth.
As background, J.H. has cerebral palsy and other developmental delays and will require lifetime care. Hagans, J.H.’s mother, claims that J.H.’s injuries stem from a delayed C-section and failure to timely administer antibiotics that led to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy while J.H. was undergoing treatment at HUP. The case proceeded to trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. At its conclusion, the jury found HUP liable and awarded $182.7 million in damages, broken out as follows: $101 million for lifetime care costs, $1.7 million for future earnings losses and $80 million for pain and suffering.
HUP and the other defendants appealed to the Superior Court, challenging several aspects of the trial court’s decision. The PAMED/AMA brief addresses concerns regarding the verdict slip provided to the jury for completion. The verdict slip guides the jury as to what findings it must reach in order to establish liability. Other concerned organizations filed briefs to address other issues of concern in the case.
The brief argues that the question asked on the verdict slip was erroneous. Specifically, that the question asked wrongly allowed the jury to find HUP liable without making the legally required determination that the treatment of J.H. factually caused J.H.’s injuries. The brief argues that the trial verdict should be set aside and the case returned to the Philadelphia court for a new trial.
Oral argument will be the next significant event in this case. While not yet scheduled, oral argument can be expected to be scheduled for the second half of 2024. You can read the brief here.