Dellenbaugh v. Commonwealth Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund

OPINION OF THE COURT

FLAHERTY, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a memorandum decision of Commonwealth Court1 which held that the appellant, Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund (CAT Fund), an agency of the Commonwealth, is responsible for providing statutory excess liability coverage in a medical malpractice action against a surgeon, Arturo Azurin, M.D. The background of the case is as follows.

On January 13, 1993, Dr. Azurin performed abdominal surgery on Dora M. Dellenbaugh. Following the surgery, serious complications developed. These included an uncontrollable infection,…