The Pennsylvania Superior Court has reinstated a medical malpractice suit against Jefferson Abington Hospital, according to a June 2 filing.

The case stems from an incident in January 2024 in which appellant Alexandro DaSilva went to the emergency room and stayed into the next day. The nursing staff’s evaluation of DaSilva noted that he was exhibiting “unusual behavior”, “not sleeping for 48 hours”, and “making very odd statements”.

According to the filing, when DaSilva’s nurse left him to care for another patient, he walked out of the hospital and became “seriously injured” after being hit by a car. He and his wife, Meirivam DaSilva, filed a complaint in December 2024 alleging that Alexandro was suffering from a psychiatric episode when he came to the hospital and that Jefferson Abington was “negligent, directly and vicariously”.

The case was transferred to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in February 2025 after which the DaSilvas filed a first amended complaint. In March 2025, Jefferson Abington filed preliminary objections maintaining that “the DaSilvas failed to plead any material factual allegations in support of their negligence claims” and that “their allegations of negligence and agency were vague/insufficiently specific”.

The trial court sustained those objections in June 2025, holding that plaintiffs need not identify specific employees to pursue vicarious liability and that references to emergency room staff were sufficiently specific. The court found that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that staff failed to monitor a patient experiencing a psychiatric episode, allowing him to leave the emergency room and be struck by a car.

“The DaSilvas argue that the complaint was sufficient and/or that they should be allowed to amend. Upon review, we reverse,” prothonotary Benjamin D. Kohler wrote. “Case remanded for defendant to file an answer to the second amended complaint.”

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