PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania woman has been granted a new trial in her lawsuit against Einstein Medical Center after a jury found even if it was not the cause of her injury, the facility's post-surgery care for her was negligent.
In upholding a lower court’s ruling, the state Superior Court three-judge panel of judges Mary Jane Bowes, Judith Olson and Kate Ford-Elliott ruled in favor of Colleen Boyle, setting the stage for further litigation for a case that first went to trial in 2018.
In a memorandum opinion dated Feb. 14, Bowes established that Boyle went to Einstein for a right knee replacement and while recovering at the facility re-aggravated her wound trying to get out of bed, necessitating a second surgery.
In the aftermath, Boyle and her husband sued on the grounds Einstein was negligent in not making certain she was assisted by a physical therapist whenever she tried moving about.
Initially, a jury rendered a verdict agreeing with them, but added the caveat the negligence was not the factual cause of Boyle’s injury. After a series of post-trial motions on behalf of the plaintiff, the trial court ordered a new trial on the grounds the verdict was legally off-base.
In her memo, Bowes added “the jury found that Einstein was negligent with respect to Ms. Boyle’s post-surgery fall. The testimony of Einstein’s own medical expert established that Ms. Boyle’s fall resulted in some injury and required emergency surgery. Consistent with the trial court’s instructions, the jury was bound to find causation but failed to do so.”
In response to Einstein’s assertion that the trial should not be limited to the issue of damages, Bowes added “although Einstein argues that limiting the new trial to the issue of damages would work a ‘substantial injustice,’ we are persuaded that the true inequity here would be in forcing appellees to relitigate the issue of liability without cause.”