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Venue Shopping

 PA Orthopaedic Society: Medical Liability Venue Shopping Would Hike Costs, Threaten Care

Feb. 4, 2019 news conference proposes blocking legislation

The possible return of medical liability venue shopping, in a proposal now moving behind the scenes at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, threatens to plunge Pennsylvania into a crisis that could drive up medical liability insurance premiums while forcing medical professionals to leave the state.

State lawmakers will join the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society at a Capitol news conference on Feb. 4 to discuss legislation meant to stop the change.

Since 2002, Pennsylvania courts have not allowed medical liability “venue shopping” – the ability by plaintiffs to file suit in favorable courts, regardless of where an incident occurred. The rule, supported by lawmakers and then-Gov. Schweiker, ended a crisis that had been gripping the health care community since the late 1990s. In the ensuing 17 years, Pennsylvania’s medical liability system has operated under this common-sense rule, said POS President Asif Ilyas, MD.

Click HERE to read the full press release.

Thanks to a grant from the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons State Orthopaedic Society Health Policy Action Fund, the PA Orthopaedic Society designed and printed 54,000 brochure cards and shipped them to orthopaedic practices within counties that would be negatively affected by the State Supreme Court's proposed new "venue shopping" rule.

The card explains TO PATIENTS what the new "venue shopping" rule could mean for them and the physicians in their community, then directly asks them to contact their State Representative to support House Bill 1063.