Can You Sue a Doctor for Sexual Abuse in Scranton?
If a physician sexually abused you or a loved one during care in Scranton or anywhere in Lackawanna County, you may have the right to hold both the doctor and the hospital, practice, or medical group that employed or credentialed them accountable through a civil claim, separate from any criminal case or state medical-board complaint. You do not need a conviction or a board ruling to reach out to a lawyer; a conversation costs nothing. Health care in the Scranton area is largely delivered through Geisinger Community Medical Center and the Commonwealth Health hospitals, including Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital, as well as the physician practices and clinics affiliated with them. Recent ownership changes and consolidation across Northeastern Pennsylvania can make it genuinely difficult to know which corporate entity was behind your doctor. A civil claim, with a lawyer who can pull employment and credentialing records, is often the only path to uncovering the full picture.Who Is Responsible, and Who Can Be Held Accountable?
The doctor who caused the harm is responsible, but in most strong cases, the hospital or practice that employed or credentialed them shares that responsibility too, and typically has the insurance and resources to pay meaningful compensation. A Scranton-area medical employer can be responsible when it was negligent, for example, by:- hiring or privileging a physician without checking prior complaints, litigation, or discipline elsewhere;
- ignoring chaperone protocols or failing to supervise a doctor who saw patients alone;
- keeping a physician in practice after complaints or a prior incident;
- failing to report the doctor to the police or the licensing board as required;
- protecting a productive clinician or the institution’s reputation instead of patients.
Where Your Case Would Be Filed
A civil claim against a Scranton physician or health system is generally brought in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County, at the Lackawanna County Courthouse on North Washington Avenue. Taking on a regional health system takes real resources: obtaining medical records, credentialing files, and prior complaints, and working with experts who can speak to the standard of care.Reporting the Abuse: Your Options in Scranton
A civil case runs on its own track, separate from criminal charges or a licensing complaint, though you can pursue all three. In Scranton, you can report to the Scranton Police Department and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office, and file a licensing complaint with the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine. The Women’s Resource Center, serving Lackawanna and Susquehanna Counties, offers free, confidential support and a 24/7 crisis hotline for survivors in the area. You can bring a civil case whether or not you file a report elsewhere.How Long Do You Have to Take Action?
Pennsylvania’s filing deadlines have shifted in recent years, so the safest step is to confirm your specific deadline directly. The civil deadline depends on your age, when the abuse happened, and other facts, and the rules have been the subject of ongoing reform. Even abuse from years ago may still be within the deadline, but waiting risks losing the right to file altogether.Ready to Talk? Here Is How to Reach Ashley
If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911. For free, confidential support any time, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673. Try to keep any records, names, and dates, but you do not need anything in hand to make the first call. Every case is handled from Ashley’s Philadelphia office at 123 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, with representation across Pennsylvania. Reach her directly at (267) 502-9090 or ashley@survivorsofabusepa.com. This is not a call center or an out-of-state intake line. No matter where you are in Lackawanna County, you can work with Ashley by phone or video. Survivors of Abuse PA takes these cases on contingency, meaning there is no cost to you unless we win. The first conversation is free, confidential, and available 24/7; you share only what you are comfortable with, at your own pace. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.Frequently asked questions
Can a Scranton hospital system be liable, not just the doctor?
Often, yes. If a Scranton-area system — such as Geisinger Community Medical Center or a Commonwealth Health hospital — negligently credentialed the physician, ignored chaperone rules, dismissed complaints, or kept the doctor seeing patients after warning signs, it can share liability, and it usually carries meaningful insurance. Naming a system is context, not an accusation.
Hospitals here have changed owners — who do I actually sue?
The entity that employed or credentialed the doctor when the abuse occurred may not be today's owner. Your attorney traces employment, credentialing, and corporate records to name the right defendant and the correct insurer. Ownership changes complicate a case but do not defeat it.
Where is a Scranton doctor abuse lawsuit filed?
Generally in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County, at the courthouse on North Washington Avenue. These cases turn on records and expert testimony a lawyer must move quickly to secure. Ashley DiLiberto's firm and national mass-tort team provide the resources to take it on.
How do I report a doctor in Scranton, and must I before suing?
You do not have to report before filing a civil claim. If you choose to, you can contact the Scranton Police Department, the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office, and the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine. The Women's Resource Center offers confidential support. A civil case is independent of all of these.
What if the doctor said the contact was part of a medical exam?
Contact that serves no legitimate medical purpose is not a valid exam, no matter how it was described. Many abusive physicians frame abuse as 'technique' or a necessary procedure. An attorney works with medical experts to show the contact fell outside any accepted standard of care.
Do I have to live in Scranton to work with you?
No. Ashley DiLiberto represents patients across northeastern Pennsylvania and the whole state with free phone and video consultations. The case is still filed and handled where it belongs, in Lackawanna County, but you never have to travel.
Will my case stay private?
Your first conversation is confidential, and protecting your privacy and medical information is a priority throughout. Many abuse settlements are confidential. You decide how much to share and when, with a trauma-informed attorney who will not rush you.
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