Pennsylvania Superior Court Holds That a Methadone Clinic Owes No Duty to Injured Third Parties

Pennsylvania - Health Law

KEY POINTS:

  • Methadone does not cause impairment of an individual's cognitive function.
  • Pennsylvania law established that physicians may not be held liable for injuries suffered by third persons in automobile accidents caused by physicians' patients. However, the court never addressed whether a methadone clinic would receive protection similar to that of a physician.

 

Throughout the United States, methadone clinics are operated to treat individuals addicted to opioid drugs. Methadone allows the patient to function in a normal fashion by reducing the craving for heroin or similar drugs, but it does not provide the patient with a 'high" that results from the use of other opioids, such as heroin. According to numerous studies conducted in the United States and throughout the world, methadone does not cause an impairment of an individual's cognitive function. Therefore, a patient, while taking methadone, can work, as well as perform the activities of daily living, such as operating a motor vehicle. Frequently, individuals who are convicted criminals and who abuse opioid medications are sentenced to participate in a methadone treatment program.

Despite numerous studies establishing that individuals who are on a stable dose of methadone are capable of operating a motor vehicle, there is a publically held perception that operating a motor vehicle after receiving a dose of methadone should not be permitted. In Stever v. Alliance Medical Services, Inc., the plaintiffs filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County alleging that a patient of Alliance Medical Services, Crystal Ickes, left the Alliance Medical facility after receiving her prescribed dose of methadone and that at approximately 7:50 a.m. she lost control of her vehicle, crossed a median and struck Matthew Stever's vehicle, causing catastrophic injuries to Mr. Stever, a 45-year-old executive. Ms. Ickes died in the crash. The plaintiffs allege that Alliance Medical Service, Inc. was negligent in failing to properly monitor Ms. Ickes and in failing to take measures to prevent Ms. Ickes from leaving the Alliance Medical facility after receiving her dose of methadone. They alleged that, as a result of the methadone, along with other medications Ms. Ickes was taking, she was unfit to operate the motor vehicle. In the Stever matter, the defendant received negative publicity in the local newspapers as a result of this and other accidents involving methadone clinic patients.

After limited discovery, our office filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings alleging that, under Pennsylvania law, Alliance Medical Services had no duty to protect third parties from injury caused by its patients. Pennsylvania law had been established indicating that a physician may not be held liable for injuries suffered by third persons in automobile accidents caused by the physician's patient. See, Witthoeft v. Kiskaddon, 733 A.2d 623 (Pa. 1999) and Hospodar v. Schick, 885 A.2d 896 (Pa. Super. 205). However, the court had never addressed the issue of whether a methadone clinic would receive protection similar to that of a physician.

The trial court granted the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings in a very detailed and thoughtful opinion. The trial court was faced with two significant, competing public policy issues. The issues include keeping residents of the Commonwealth safe from individuals unfit to operate motor vehicles versus encouraging drug addicted patients to seek treatment and continue with a normal life. Ultimately, the trial court found that the methadone clinic owed no duty to Mr. Stever, although the court indicated that it was "constrained" to find in favor of the defendant and suggested that the issue be reviewed by the Legislature.

The plaintiffs filed an appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and, ultimately, the court issued a 45-page opinion upholding the order granting Judgment on the Pleadings. At both the trial court and Superior Court level, the plaintiffs argued that a number of states, including Alabama and Florida, have held that a methadone clinic owed a duty to third party drivers to protect against foreseeable harm after the patient had received a dose of methadone. The Superior Court accepted our argument that these cases were distinguishable from the facts involved in the Stever matter, as well as public policy issues addressed in those states. The Pennsylvania Superior Court engaged in a detailed public policy analysis, which included review of historical issues dealing with methadone clinics. The court noted that in January of 1974, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania issued an official opinion indicating, "We have concluded that there is no basis whatsoever to refuse a license or permit or suspend the operating privileges of anyone merely because such a person is in a drug-free treatment program and such a practice, if it exists, must cease immediately." Thus, we argued that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognizes the importance of allowing patients receiving treatment in a methadone program to operate a motor vehicle so that they can maintain a normal life. The court also agreed that the same protection afforded to physicians should apply to a methadone clinic. The Superior Court ultimately concluded that Alliance owed no duty to Mr. Stever and upheld the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. The plaintiffs did file a Petition for Allowance of Appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; however, this was ultimately denied.

As a result of the favorable decision in the Stever case, our firm was able to have two further cases filed against Alliance Medical Services involving injuries to third parties dismissed. These cases also involved catastrophic injuries to individuals who were struck by a motor vehicle operated by patients who had left a methadone clinic.

Ron is a shareholder who works in our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, office. He can be reached at 412.803.1152 or rmpuntil@mdwcg.com.

Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 2, June 2011