State litigation guide · Pennsylvania

Olympus Duodenoscope Lawsuit in Pennsylvania

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Statute of limitations — Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524 provides a 2-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims including product liability. The discovery rule applies — the clock begins when the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered the connection between their infection and the contaminated duodenoscope. Pennsylvania does not have a statute of repose for medical device product liability claims.

2 years from discovery of duodenoscope-linked infection

Filing venue

Where to File in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania duodenoscope cases may be filed in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas — historically one of the most favorable jurisdictions in the country for medical device product liability — or in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern or Western Districts of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia's plaintiffs' bar has deep experience with complex medical device litigation and access to world-class infectious disease expert witnesses from Penn Medicine and Temple University. Pennsylvania applies a risk-utility test for design defect claims and uses the Frye standard for expert admissibility in state courts.

Pennsylvania data

Exposure in Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania Health System is one of the highest-volume ERCP centers in the Northeast, performing procedures with Olympus duodenoscopes during the documented contamination period

Penn Medicine

Source: Penn Medicine / CMS Medicare procedure data

Reported in Olympus's October 2025 Urgent Field Safety Notice — confirming ongoing patient harm from duodenoscope contamination a decade after the first major outbreaks

2 deaths, 5 injuries

Source: Olympus Corporation Urgent Field Safety Notice (Oct 2025)

Pennsylvania has no statute of repose for medical device product liability claims, allowing patients who discover late-onset infections or long-term complications to pursue claims without an absolute time bar

No repose

Source: 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524 / Pennsylvania case law

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