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★ Pennsylvania · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in Pennsylvania.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Pennsylvania has produced some of the largest malpractice verdicts in the country. In 2025 the Superior Court upheld a $182.7 million award for a baby born with a brain injury at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in Pennsylvania

Future care awardsA future medical award based on a life care plan and a projected life expectancy stands if the evidence supports it, even when very large.Hagans v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Pa. Super. 2025)
Corporate liabilityA surgical facility can be held directly liable, and the jury may apportion a verdict among defendants.Kimble v. Laser Spine Institute (Pa. Super. 2021)
Deadline to sueTwo years for personal injury claims, with the discovery rule deciding when the clock starts in some cases.42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, as applied in Varner-Mort v. Kapfhammer (Pa. Super. 2015)
Fault ruleContributory negligence “shall not bar recovery ... where such negligence was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant”; damages are reduced by the plaintiff’s share.42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a), as quoted in Matthews v. Batroney (Pa. Super. 2019)
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★ PA · reported medical negligence outcomes

What Pennsylvania courts have awarded.

Real Pennsylvania decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Hagans v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
    Pennsylvania Superior Court · 2025
    $182,737,791 verdict, affirmed

    In February 2018 a mother whose water had broken was taken by ambulance to HUP and delivered her son J.H. by cesarean section within about three hours. He had a brain injury at birth and now has moderate to severe cerebral palsy; he cannot walk or speak, has cortical visual impairment, and is fed through a gastrostomy tube. The jury awarded $182,737,791, including $101,037,791 for future medical care. The Superior Court rejected the hospital’s challenges and affirmed.

  • Kimble v. Laser Spine Institute
    Pennsylvania Superior Court · 2021
    $20 million verdict, affirmed

    Sharon Kimble, who lived in Ohio and had debilitating back pain, had outpatient spine surgery at Laser Spine Institute in Wayne in January 2014 and died. The jury returned a $20 million verdict, assigning 65% of liability to Laser Spine Institute and including $10 million under the Wrongful Death Act; $500,273.97 in delay damages followed. The Superior Court affirmed.

★ PA · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in Pennsylvania.

  1. 1

    Life care plans set the ceiling. The HUP award rested on a plan costed through age 75 for a child who will need care for life.

  2. 2

    Facilities can be liable in their own right. Kimble shows a surgical center held responsible alongside individual clinicians.

  3. 3

    Pennsylvania appellate courts have let very large malpractice awards stand when the evidence of lifetime needs supports them, as the HUP and Laser Spine verdicts show.

★ PA · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

42 Pa.C.S. § 5524

★ PA · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault under the Fair Share Act (2011).

★ medical negligence · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Pennsylvania's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for medical negligence claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationMedical negligence page
Pennsylvania · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury—
Rhode IslandPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryRI · medical negligence →
VermontModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryVT · medical negligence →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · medical negligence →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · medical negligence →
District of ColumbiaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryDC · medical negligence →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · medical negligence →
South CarolinaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injurySC · medical negligence →
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · medical negligence →
West VirginiaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryWV · medical negligence →
WisconsinModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryWI · medical negligence →
South DakotaSlight versus gross negligence3 years from date of injurySD · medical negligence →
TennesseeModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the USTN · medical negligence →
★ PA · medical negligence · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Pennsylvania. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of PA
Pennsylvania overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Pennsylvania as a whole.

★ national frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Pennsylvania. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.