A much needed liability reform bill, which the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) strongly supports, was signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett on June 28, 2011. The Fair Share Act (Senate Bill 1131) modifies Pennsylvania’s joint and several liability law so that each responsible defendant only has to pay their share as long as the jury finds them less than 60 percent at fault.
If a defendant is found 60 percent or more at fault, they can be made to pay 100 percent of the damages if the other defendants are without sufficient funds.
The new law does not apply to pending cases decided after the effective date (June 28, 2011), or even to cases filed after that time but in which the cause of action accrued before the effective date. It only applies immediately to cases in which the cause of action accrued after the effective date.
Before this bill was passed, Pennsylvania was one of only a handful of states that had complete joint and several liability. PAMED applauds both the House of Representatives and the Senate for their passage of this important legislation.
Some exceptions for full joint and several liability still exist, including intentional misrepresentation, hazardous torts, hazardous substances released or threatened to be released, and liquor code violations.
PAMED continues to advocate for additional medical liability reforms, including a bill to allow physician apologies (
HB 495) and a bill to strengthen the certificate of merit requirements.