Brown v. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine,

Brown v. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic
Medicine,
No. 2880 EDA 1999 (Pa. Super. August 30, 2000)

Plaintiffs sued a hospital alleging that its negligent misdiagnosis of syphilis in their
newborn caused the husband to confess to infidelity which led to domestic abuse,
the break-up of their marriage and loss of the wife’s employment as a Philadelphia
police officer after she fired her weapon at her husband in the street. A jury
awarded the unhappy couple over a half million dollars, but the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court reversed, holding that the erroneous diagnosis was clearly not
the proximate cause of the injuries claimed.