Former Penn State team doctor awarded $5.25 million in wrongful termination suit involving James Franklin, medical school

Former Penn State orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Lynch was reportedly awarded $5.25 million in punitive and compensatory damages, according to ESPN’s Paula Lavinge.

Earlier this month, Penn State football coach James Franklin was accused of interfering with medical decisions on players. Another former Penn State physician, Dr. Pete Seidenberg, alleged those incidents.

Now, Lynch was awarded damages for his alleged wrongful termination. He spoke with ESPN saying he hoped this would spark an investigation, not just at Penn State.

“There’s not yet been one school punished for violating medical autonomy issues,” Lynch said. “This is bigger than just Penn State. It’s really a national crisis and things have to change.”

The testimony included former Penn State players, doctors, athletic trainers, university system officials and others discussing examples of injuries and medical decisions.

Penn State Health also released a statement on the matter.

“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,” the statement read, via ESPN. “Penn State Health and the University remain dedicated to the health and well-being of our student-athletes.”

Lynch filed suit in August 2019, six months after being removed as the football team’s orthopedic physician and director of athletic medicine at the university. He held the position since 2014.

Lynch sued Penn State Health’s Milton S. Hershey medical Center and Dr. Kevin Black, the latter announcing Lynch’s removal five years ago.

Franklin and the university were referenced in the lawsuit but both were dismissed as defendants in 2020 due to the statute of limitations and Franklin was not called to testify at the trial. It is unclear if this verdict will result in any action regarding Franklin, according to the report.

James Franklin accused of interfering with Penn State medical decisions

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Luciew, Franklin allegedly overstepped his bounds. Seidenberg detailed a situation when Franklin and then-Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour wanted a player who attempted suicide to be medically disqualified from the team while he was receiving treatment in short-term psychiatric care.

That was just one example and it seemed to be alarming. If that player was medically disqualified, it would’ve caused him to lose his scholarship.

With that, Franklin could offer that spot to another player during the offseason.

Seidenberg served as the primary care team physician during the early portion of Franklin’s tenure and spoke during the ongoing trial in a lawsuit filed by Dr. Scott Lynch. Lynch was Penn State’s director of athletic medicine and orthopedic consultant to the football team before being fired in March of 2019.

According to Luciew, Seidenberg detailed “numerous meetings in which he said Franklin pressured him, Lynch, and the chief athletic trainer to alter their medical decisions and the treatment advice and options given to players.”

Once observing Franklin’s alleged behavior, Seidenberg “perceived that as his attempt to influence medical decisions.”

To go along with Seidenberg’s accusations, Lynch alleged in the lawsuit he was fired five years ago because he refused to “allow a coach to interfere with his medical treatment and return-to-play decisions.”