PA Hospital Loses Bid For A New Trial In A $2.4M Verdict

Introduction

A state appeals court rejected a second bid by Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley Health Network Inc. for a new trial over a $2.4 million verdict awarded to a woman who was permanently disabled and confined to a wheelchair due to its employees’ negligence.

On April 12, 2012, the plaintiff underwent knee surgery at Lehigh Valley Hospital. She fell from the bed while recovering from the surgery and was transferred for occupational and physical therapy. The woman reported pain and clicking sound in her knee to a nurse, which was not reported to the treating doctor. The doctors, after finding that the woman suffered a fracture, performed two additional surgeries to fix her knee, both of which were unsuccessful. The woman has been left with a permanent disability and is confined to a wheelchair.

The woman filed a lawsuit against the hospital in February 2014, claiming negligence in connection with injuries suffered as well as a claim of loss of consortium.

A jury had awarded the women $2.4 million. The state's supreme court reversed the superior court’s prior decision and awarded the health-care provider a new trial, stating that some of the claims were time-barred.

On 26 May, the superior court said that the hospital wasn’t entitled to a new trial based on two alleged evidentiary errors, and the trial judge’s refusal to reduce the jury award.

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