In one of the first civil cases affected by the state’s change in venue law, a Delaware County jury has awarded a Brookhaven family close to $1.2 million in a wrongful-death suit. Last Friday a 12-member jury awarded Margaret and Chilson Collom Jr. $1.12 million for the wrongful death of their 25-year-old son, Chilson "Buddy" Collom III, who died of complications from dehydration after a week’s stay at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland on May 3, 2000.

Crozer and the young man’s attending physician, Dr. Bernard Zoranski of Aston, were named in the suit. The jury cleared Crozer of any liability based on the premise that Zoranski was not an "ostensible agent" of the hospital.

"The verdict was not against Crozer. There was no criticism of the care received at Crozer. We appreciate the time and effort the jury put into the case," said Kathy Scullin, vice president of marketing and public relations for Crozer-Keystone Health System.

The doctor’s insurance company, the Pennsylvania Guaranty Fund, and the state-run Mcare fund, formerly known as the Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Fund, will be responsible for the award.

The jury, which deliberated about seven hours over two days during the week-long trial, also ordered Zoranski to pay $75,000 to Mrs. Collom for negligent affliction of emotional distress.

On Monday the plaintiffs’ attorneys, A. Roy DeCaro and Michael W. McGurkin of Raynes McCarty in Philadelphia, asked Delaware County Judge Kathrynann Durham for an additional $101,000 in delay damages.

"The family has been waiting over four years to gets its day in court and it’s finally getting resolution," noted DeCaro.

Zoranski declined comment. His trial attorney, John P. Shea of Kent & McBride in Philadelphia, did not return calls requesting comment.

Buddy Collom, who was diagnosed as mentally retarded with a history of schizophrenia and catatonia, was taken by his mother to Crozer’s emergency room in April 2000 after he did not eat or drink anything for several days.

"We claimed and the jury agreed that when Dr. Zoranski was attending he did not properly monitor him, and as a result he died suddenly of an electrolyte imbalance from dehydration and not enough nutrition," said DeCaro.

The young man was not fed intravenously, as he had been in previous hospitalizations when he was in a catatonic state, noted DeCaro.

The case was originally filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas but was transferred to Delaware County about a year ago as a result of a state law passed in 2002 requiring cases to be filed in the venue where the alleged malpractice occurred.

The tort reform was a result of extensive lobbying by doctors who maintain high Philadelphia jury awards have driven up medical malpractice liability costs in Pennsylvania. DeCaro said the case was originally filed in Philadelphia because Crozer-Keystone owned a nursing home in the city at the time.

"It shows that in the counties you will get appropriate verdicts when there are appropriate facts," said DeCaro.