The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania denied the Plaintiff’s Petition for Allowance of Appeal in Corey v. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. This finalized a complete defense victory which ultimately resulted in precedential law that strongly reaffirmed the principle that in order to prevail on a corporate negligence claim against medical providers, such as a hospital, it must be established that the hospital defendant engaged in systemic negligence.
To recap, Plaintiff brought this medical professional negligence action against Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and it is emergency department providers, alleging that the Hospital’s emergency room staff was negligent in treating her late husband. The record established that the decedent was in distress when he presented to the Hospital’s emergency room, suffering from, among other things, chest pains and shortness of breath. He was treated immediately by the ER staff and, after about an hour, showed significant improvement. The ER nurse then left the room where decedent was being treated in order to consult with the attending ER physician concerning the Decedent’s continued treatment. When she returned approximately 12 minutes later, she found that the decedent had “coded.” Decedent passed away approximately 12 hours later.
In her complaint, Plaintiff alleged the Hospital was institutionally liable for corporate negligence, and was also vicariously liable as a result of the actions of the Hospital’s employee, the nurse who treated decedent in the ER. At trial, Plaintiff introduced expert testimony from an expert who opined that the Hospital was institutionally negligent, causing decedent’s death. The Burns White trial team of Stuart O’Neal and Marcy Tanker moved for a nonsuit on Plaintiff’s claim of corporate negligence, arguing that the Plaintiff’s expert’s testimony did not establish that the Hospital breached the standard of care typically associated with corporate negligence claims against hospitals. The trial court granted the nonsuit on the corporate negligence claim and the case proceeded to verdict on Plaintiff’s claims of vicarious liability. After a two-week trial, the jury deliberated for 14 minutes and returned a complete defense verdict. Plaintiff’s pretrial demand was significant.
Plaintiff appealed. In February 2023, a divided three-judge panel of the Superior Court reversed and remanded for a trial on the corporate negligence claim. The Burns White appellate team, led by Ira Podheiser and Marcy Tanker, sought reargument with the Superior Court, which was granted, and resulted in withdrawal of the original panel opinion. After briefing and argument in front of a nine-judge en banc panel, the Superior Court, in a published 5-4 decision issued on December 11, 2023, affirmed the initial jury verdict and judgment of the Trial Court in favor of the Hospital. Corey v. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, 307 A.3d 701 (Pa. Super. 2023) (en banc). The Majority opinion found that Plaintiff and her experts did not establish the type of “systemic” negligence required for corporate negligence liability to attach to the Hospital. Additionally, the en banc panel also rejected Plaintiff’s claims concerning the jury verdict form and the short period of time the jury deliberated on the case in rendering its verdict.
Plaintiff then filed a Petition for Allowance of Appeal with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Burns White appellate team filed an answer strongly arguing that the case should not be accepted for review. On September 18, 2024, the Court denied, without comment, the Petition, which officially brought an end to the case and resulted in a precedential en banc decision from the Superior Court which reaffirmed that isolated acts of negligence are not sufficient to impose corporate negligence liability on a hospital; it must be demonstrated that such negligence is “systemic” in nature.