Tag: tort reform

As Philadelphia Malpractice Cases Multiply, Group Asks Court to Review Venue Rule

Bradley Vasoli

As Philadelphia medical malpractice cases skyrocket, a pro-tort-reform nonprofit is asking a Pennsylvania Supreme Court committee to review new “forum shopping” rules. 

The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR) sent its second such request in two months to the court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee Chair Kathleen Bruder. According to PCCJR, new data show that the failure to keep medical malpractice cases in their proper venues is worsening lawsuit abuse that financially batters insurers, threatens medical professionals, and harms consumers. 

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Proposal Would Tackle False Pennsylvania Medicaid Claims Without Encouraging Private Lawsuits

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state Representative Rob Kauffman (R-Chambersburg) is preparing a bill to strengthen enforcement against Medicaid fraud, suggesting other legislation aimed at the problem would spur unneeded litigation. 

Kauffman’s measure would exact triple damages when a court finds a care provider deliberately and improperly claimed funds from Medicaid, the federal-state healthcare program for low-income Americans. The bill would also empower the commonwealth’s inspector general to impose civil penalties on Medicaid scammers and dedicate new funds to the state attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. 

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Several Pennsylvania Judge Candidates Ignore Lawsuit Abuse Questionnaire

Bradley Vasoli

A pro-tort-reform nonprofit published the results of its 2023 candidate survey this week, and several state-court hopefuls — including all Democratic contenders — did not respond. 

Carolyn Carluccio, a Republican Montgomery County Common Pleas judge running for state Supreme Court, returned the questionnaire to the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR). Her party compatriots Maria Battista and Harry Smail Jr., respectively a Clarion County-based former prosecutor and a current Westmoreland County judge who are running for Superior Court, also answered the inquiry. 

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