Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court last Monday sidestepped a dispute over reviving three Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawsuits dismissed after the plaintiffs’ lawyer abandoned the cases.
The court, without comment, decided not to hear arguments by two hospitals and a doctor who said they did not get an adequate chance to oppose reopening the cases.
The three cases were among 14 medical malpractice lawsuits filed for various people by Philadelphia lawyer Thomas W. Smith.
According to court papers, Smith’s superiors at his law firm discovered in January 1998 that he had suffered a mental breakdown and had failed to file numerous documents in cases he was handling.
Ten of the cases had been dismissed by Philadelphia courts, and in others Smith had missed deadlines to conduct pre-trial fact-finding. The law firm asked a state trial court to reopen the cases and extend deadlines for fact-finding.
A judge decided in August 1998 that the lawyer’s inaction was ‘not mere neglect or oversight’ but that the situation was compelling enough to warrant reopening the cases. State appellate courts let that ruling stand.
In the appeal acted on last week, lawyers for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia and Dr. Norbert Froese said the judge should have let them conduct fact-finding to bolster their arguments against reopening the three cases.
Lawyers for those who filed the lawsuits said the information sought by the hospitals and doctor was not relevant to the question of reopening the cases.
The case is Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia v. Cunningham, 99-1241.
Proposed Increase for DUI Penalties
Harrisburg – Accompanied by a teen-ager who lost family members to a drunken driver, Sen. Patrick J. Stapleton recently announced a four-bill package to increase penalties for driving under the influence.
Stapleton (D-Indiana) spoke about the package last Tuesday with Bill Minick, 16, of Armstrong County, whose father and 10-year-old sister were killed by a drunken driver last August.
Minick and three classmates from Leechburg High School gave Stapleton a petition containing more than 4,000 signatures calling for stricter DUI laws, especially for repeat offenders.
Stapleton’s first bill would lower the legal blood-alcohol level from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent.
The second bill would increase the penalties for the first three DUI convictions, making the third violation a felony instead of a misdemeanor. It also would result in the permanent loss of the driver’s license.
The third bill establishes parole conditions for DUI, such as assessments of all offenders prior to their release, participation in treatment programs and regular progress reports.
The fourth bill would impound any vehicle used by a DUI violator, even if it belongs to someone else.
Rep. Charles T. McIlhinney Jr. (R-Bucks) pledged bipartisan support for the legislative package at a rally in the Capitol Rotunda.
Lawyer Faces Second Lewdness Lawsuit
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