Law students present with medical students at orthopaedic conference
At the annual Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society Conference, held in State College, law students had the opportunity to present with resident physicians from Penn State Hershey Medical Center on the Medicine vs. Law, panel which addressed two medical malpractice liability cases.
Widener Law Commonwealth students Alexandra Sholley, Alexender Beale, MaryGrace Sempa, and Lindsay Eichinger presented the legal arguments of the cases and explained the justifications for the court rulings in each case. The residents looked at the cases from the medical perspective of physicians and patient care.
The presentation led to a policy discussion among the student panelists and doctors in the audience about a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision establishing a new standard for physicians obtaining informed consent from their patients. The students and residents plan to continue the conversation and collaboration to propose and advocate for legislative solutions to the physicians’ concerns over the new informed consent requirement.
The law students were assisted in preparation by alumnus Scott Cooper, a leading personal injury attorney, and law professors Christopher Robinette and Jill Family. Alumnus Jonathan Bigley recommended that the panel include Widener Law Commonwealth students.
“We are so grateful to Jonathan Bigley for seizing this opportunity for our students, and to Scott Cooper for taking time out of his schedule to mentor the students. The students did an amazing job. Many conference attendees told me the students’ panel was their favorite,” said Professor Family.