A Dauphin County jury on Wednesday awarded $5.25 million to a former Penn State football team doctor who alleged he was removed from the role because of clashes with coach James Franklin over player medical decisions.
After a seven-day trial, Dr. Scott Lynch was awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million punitive damages in his lawsuit against Penn State Health and his supervisor, Dr. Kevin Black, PennLive reported.
Lynch filed the lawsuit in August 2019, six months after he was removed from his position as team physician. He said at the time that he filed the lawsuit only after Penn State failed to implement recommendations for ensuring autonomy of athletic medicine staff.
Franklin and others were dismissed from the lawsuit in 2020 after a judge ruled was Lynch three days past a 180-day deadline when he filed whistleblower claims.
Penn State maintained that Lynch was removed from the position as team physician and director of athletic medicine because he lived in Hershey did not maintain a residence in State College. At trial, defense attorneys suggested Lynch had poor communication with Franklin in part because he was not on campus every day.
Lynch, who continues to be employed by Penn State Health as an orthopedic surgeon, claimed he was removed because Franklin had improper influence over his supervision and that he was relieved of athletic duties after five years in the role following repeated clashes with the coach regarding player treatment.
During the trial, Lynch read from emails to Penn State integrity officers in 2015 and 2019 in which he expressed concerns about Franklin’s pressure and influence on former Athletic Director Sandy Barbour. He testified he believed he was removed from the position in retaliation for clashing with Franklin and reporting his attempts to interfere with medical decisions to the athletic department and Penn State Health.
Another team physician, Dr. Peter Seidenberg, who now practices out of state, testified about one case in which Franklin asked for a player who had attempted suicide and was undergoing treatment to be medically disqualified. Lynch later testified under cross-examination that the player would have continued to receive free tuition but would no longer be able to play football.
Among other incidents detailed by Seidenberg, Franklin allegedly pressured medical staff to clear a player who had an ankle sprain.
Former Penn State football stars Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley testified for the defense, and both acknowledged that Franklin had contacted them about doing so. Both testified that they were never pressured by Franklin to return from injuries nor did they observe him pressuring medical staff to clear them,
Another former player, defensive lineman Robert Windsor, testified that he felt pressured to return from a knee injury.
Penn State Health issued a statement on Wednesday saying it has not yet determined if it will file an appeal.
“We are extremely disappointed to learn of the jury’s decision, as we continue to believe that the claims in the complaint have no merit,” the health system wrote in the statement. “Penn State Health will soon determine whether it will appeal the decision. Penn State Health and the University remain dedicated to the health and well-being of our student-athletes.”
