A Dauphin County jury Wednesday night found in favor of a fired Penn State football team doctor who claimed Nittany Lions head football coach James Franklin repeatedly interfered with his medical decisions and return-to-play decisions for injured players.
Dr. Scott Lynch was awarded the stunning sum of $5.25 million in the case centered on his 2019 ouster as an orthopedic consultant to the football team and medical director for Penn State Athletics.
The jury decided on $250,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Lynch sued both his employer, Penn State Health, and the boss who removed him from his Penn State medical roles, Dr. Kevin Black.
Lynch maintained his ouster from his dual football roles had followed repeated clashes with Franklin over medical decisions and treatment plans for injured players after the head coach took over in 2014. Lynch claims he was terminated because he refused to “allow a coach to interfere with his medical treatment and return to play decisions,” referring to Franklin.
The jury’s decision follows a seven-day trial packed with Penn State palace intrigue, power moves by two head football coaches and star players taking the stand. And of course, money – lots of it.
Lynch was seeking compensatory damages that an expert testifying on the doctor’s behalf pegged at $772,000. He also sought punitive damages intended to punish the defendants for what Lynch’s attorney alleges was retaliation for his client’s clashes with Franklin and a subsequent coverup by Penn State Health to distance the coach from the decision to oust the doctor.
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The defense asserted there was no evidence Lynch ever altered any of his medical treatment of players under pressure from Franklin — or anyone else. Franklin and Penn State Athletics were dropped from the lawsuit over a filing technicality.
Moreover, Franklin was never called as a defense witness, despite the coach being at the crux of the case.
“Dr. Lynch wouldn’t relent. He would not let Coach Franklin interfere with his medical autonomy,” Lynch’s attorney, Steven Marino, told the jury in his closing arguments, citing the reason his client was demoted.
In her closing, defense attorney Sarah Bouchard said her clients did “nothing wrong” in removing a Hershey-bound football doctor who wasn’t “all-in” on performing his Penn State duties because he was never available in State College full time.
Check back with PennLive for more on the case as Lynch, his lawyer and the defense team respond to the jury’s verdict — and what it means for Franklin.