by  John Luciew | jluciew@pennlive.com| Penn Live | published February 16, 2025

A week after a $5.25 million verdict for a fired Penn State football doctor rocked both Penn State Health and Penn State Athletics, the winning lawyer is taking stock of the far-reaching impact of the case.

Steven Marino, speaking to PennLive at the Hershey home of his client, Dr. Scott Lynch, said the wrongful firing case against the vast health system and Lynch’s supervisor could establish new law in Pennsylvania.

“This cause of action is very unique, and it’s very limited in Pennsylvania,” Marino said of the narrow circumstances under which “at will” employees can sue over their firing.

But Marino successfully argued Lynch was ousted from his dual medical roles with Penn State Athletics due to repeated clashes with Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin over medical decisions and treatment plans for injured football players.

Even though both Franklin and Penn State Athletics were dropped from the case on a filing technicality, Marino won against Penn State Health and Lynch’s supervisor by linking his firing to those clashes with Franklin, arguing the ouster was retaliation.

Marino said the verdict, if upheld on a possible appeal by Penn State Health, could widen the standard of medical care in Pa. to now include protections against interference in injured player treatments by coaches or any other non-medical personnel with athletic teams.

“For a doctor who manages collegiate athletes, the standard of care now includes making sure that their medical decisions aren’t interfered with,” Marino said. And while such medical standards were already enshrined in NCAA and Big10 rules, the Lynch case could establish those protections in Pennsylvania law, Marino said.

“The standard of care now includes not allowing a medical judgment to be interfered with by a coach,” Marino said. “That’s the standard of care now in Pennsylvania. That’s the law. And if you adversely affect someone, a doctor, it creates now a kind of cause of action, an employment action.”

For his part, Lynch said the standard was never to prove that Franklin or anyone else overrode the orthopedic surgeon’s medical decisions on an injured player, as was repeatedly argued by the defense. Rather, Lynch said the case was always about his repeated clashes with Franklin that he said led to his ouster as the football team’s orthopedic consultant and as director of athletic medicine for Penn State in March 2019.

“The standard is not Franklin putting a player in that wasn’t medically cleared. That’s not the standard,” Lynch insisted. “The standard is them trying to bully the medical staff into changing decisions. That’s not appropriate. Because there are people out there who will give in.”

As for the prospect of an appeal, which Penn State Health said it’s still pondering, Marino expressed confidence the verdict will stand. He credited Dauphin County Court Judge Andrew Dowling with running a “clean trial” and making a long series of rulings that favored neither side.

“I thought he was efficient. He was fair. He made rulings on both sides for and against us, for and against them,” Marino said of the judge. “I don’t see any significant appellate issues at all. It’s always a threat by everyone who’s disgruntled with the verdict.”

Penn State Health’s defense lawyers refused to comment in wake of the verdict, delivered by the jury at 8 p.m. on May 29. The day after, Penn State Health’s corporate communications office issued this statement:

“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. 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.”

Following the seven-day trial, the jury decided on $250,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages for Lynch.

The doctor sued both his ongoing employer, Penn State Health, and the boss who removed him from his Penn State medical roles, Dr. Kevin Black.

Lynch claimed he was terminated from his medical roles with the football team and Penn State Athletics because he refused to “allow a coach to interfere with his medical treatment and return to play decisions,” referring to Franklin.

Employers who violate the law should be held accountable. If you were wrongfully terminated because of discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing, or another unlawful reason, Marino Associates is prepared to investigate your claim, preserve critical evidence, and aggressively pursue the compensation and justice you deserve. Call ( (215) 462-3200 or complete our online contact form to speak with an experienced wrongful termination attorney today. Your case consultation is free.