In the December 21st Lancaster Newspaper article by Janet Kelley entitled “2 local doctors lose malpractice judgements worth a combined $3 million”, the reporting of the two verdicts against plastic surgeon Dr. John Schantz and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Carl Becker may be demonstrative of a new trend in Lancaster County. Lancaster County juries have had had a long-standing reputation of being pro-physician in their verdicts. This is not just based on the culture of our county, but is supported by statewide court records and statistics.
Additionally, it can be asked why did reporter Kelley opt to report on these two surgeons. It is found, through the county Prothonotary website, that both Dr. Schantz and Dr. Becker have multiple filings against them to the Lancaster County court. So it can be surmised that a physician with multiple filings will ultimately lead to a plaintiff verdict. But that isn’t necessarily the basis for a possible new trend of high value plaintiff verdicts. And just as important, will this new trend in plaintiff verdicts prompt more patients to come forward and file against their physicians when a perceived shortcoming has occurred toward their healthcare? It may be a human survival trait to seek “easy money” in light of our country’s poor economics, so this trend needs to be explored — and at the same time, the physicians with multiple court filings, like Dr. Schantz and Dr. Becker, need to be weary that their surgical complications can no longer be “swept under the rug”. Patients are now seeking attorneys when they feel their health outcomes have been compromised.
But enough rhetoric, per open statewide records, Lancaster County has had significantly higher malpractice filings this past decade with a noticeable trend during the past decade representing a 363.6% increase in Lancaster County malpractice filings, when compared to a 39.9% decrease in malpractice filings across the entire state of Pennsylvania.
In regard to Lancaster County verdicts over the same period of time, there have been a total of 43 court verdicts in Lancaster County in the past decade. Of these 43 verdicts, only 5 have been for the patient (plaintiff) – a remarkably low 11.6% of all court verdicts. And of these five verdicts, 4 of the verdicts awarded the patient less than $500,000 (similar to the Dr. Becker verdict) and only 1 verdict, in 2006 awarded an amount between $500,000 and $1 million. The sum total award of $2.7 million against Dr. Schantz is far and above any amount awarded to any plaintiff in medical malpractice case as noted per public record dating back to at least the year 2000.
This last point is most alarming for those Lancaster County healthcare providers. Lancaster County juries are no longer the physician-coddling peers that physicians depended on throughout the past decade. So with an unforeseeable return to a sound national economy, an increasing trend in patient medical malpractice filings is obvious. But also the seven figure jury awards, most commonly seen in Lackawanna and Philadelphia counties, may be here to stay in Lancaster County.
I have worked for plaintiffs and defendants in litigation (no doctors). Your post on this topic appeared unbiased, which is quite refreshing. In my experience, lawsuits are hardly quick money. They can drag on for years, often at the attorney’s initial expense. Hopefully that gamble will screen out the frivalous suits.
At any rate, I don’t want to lose my right to sue for incompetence or carelessness. And the record can be a useful tool in chosing a physician.
To Anonymous,
I appreciate your reply. I wrote the letter with a great avoidance toward bias and only quoting from publicly available Pennsylvania statistics. I found it interesting that the newspapers made this article a front-page news item. As you have worked for both plaintiffs and defendants, do you sense that front=page publicity, such as this article, may prompt more patients to come forward against either of these surgeons? Or prompt other patients toward plaintiff attorney offices? I would be interested in your opinion.
The author of the Letter to the Editor
First I must say again say that my experience is with product liability, not medical malpractice. I would expect that such publicity would cause patients who have experienced problems to come forward against these, and perhaps other doctors.
The attorneys seem to have ways to find legitimate cases, perhaps through words of mouth with there existing clients or other medical staff aware of problem situations. Of course we’ve all seen their ads on television and billboards also.
I’ve worked with a few cases where I’ve advised the attorneys the cases were a waste of time IMO. Sometimes, unfortunately, it seems the attorney knows they can shake down the insurance companies for a couple thousand and take an easy fee. Other times they seem to have just dropped the cases.
writer of the initial reply.