Pennsylvania Court Reaffirms that Medical Malpractice Claims Require Clear Evidence of Direct Link Between Health Care Provider’s Actions and Harm Suffered

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, finding they were able to make a causal connection between the health care provider’s actions and the harm suffered, stating the plaintiff adequately demonstrated medical negligence. 

The court reiterated that a plaintiff alleging medical negligence must provide an expert witness who can opine, with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, on an identified standard of care, a deviation from that care, and the breach was a proximate cause of the harm suffered. 

Additionally, the court affirmed the trial court’s refusal to submit comparative negligence to the jury because the defendant was unable to show that any comparative negligence was not the cause of the alleged harm. Because the defendant was unable to testify with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the court did not find that there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate comparative negligence. 

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