Superior Court Upholds Trial Court's Allowance of an Amendment to a Complaint During Course of a Trial To Add Claims for Punitive Damages

In the case of Bernavage v. Greenridge Healthcare Group, LLC, No. 1576 MDA 2023 (Pa. Super. Oct. 22, 2026) (en banc) (Op. by Lazarus, J.) (Stabile, J., dissenting), the Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a trial court’s allowance of an amendment of a Complaint by a Plaintiff during the course of a trial to add claims for punitive damages.

According to the Opinion, this lawsuit involved allegations of negligence against a nursing home where the then elderly Plaintiff had fractured her hip after the staff had allegedly improperly transferred her without the necessary precautions.

The case was bifurcated into a case on liability and compensatory damages, and was followed with a separate trial on the punitive damages claims.

During the course of the first trial, after the Plaintiff had presented evidence in support of claims of recklessness, including expert witness testimony, the Plaintiff sought to amend the original Complaint to include claims of recklessness and to request punitive damages. This request was granted by the trial court.

As noted, on appeal and under this en banc decision, the Superior Court found no error by the trial court in this regard.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of the Majority Opinion of this decision may click this LINK.  Judge Stabile's Dissenting Opinion can be viewed HERE.