In certain areas, medical malpractice negligence laws in New Jersey will vary from the remainder of states in the United States. These differences, though not changing the core issues requiring proof in a medical negligence tort claim, may influence the ability of a patient to recover damages. As part of any viable medical malpractice case, a patient must prove the following legal elements, including that a doctor-patient relationship existed, a duty of care was owed, a breach of duty of care occurred, the breach constituted negligence, the negligence was the proximate cause of injuries, and that actual damages and other injuries did occur. These elements are critical to cases in any state, including New Jersey.
New Jersey Medical Malpractice and Negligence Laws
However, the state of New Jersey, like many other states, does contain statutory differences in handling medical malpractice claims, which include the following:
- Statute of Limitations: In New Jersey, the statute of limitations applicable to medical malpractice claims is set at two (2) years from the date when cause of action accrues. This includes the ability of a patient to state that cause of action does not accrue until the patient discovers his or her injury. Furthermore, more statute of limitations is tolled for minors under age of 21 and legally insane persons, until t he disability is removed or age of majority is reached.
- Comparative and Contributory Negligence: New Jersey utilizes a doctrine of modified comparatives negligence, which bars patient recovery for damages if the patient’s negligence is larger than the comparative negligence of all other defendants combined, or more than half. In all other instances, patient recovery in light of contributory negligence is reduced proportional to the amount of fault.
- Vicarious Liability: Under New Jersey vicarious liability legal precedents, the courts typically find hospitals liable for negligent actions of employees, and in turn, the courts also respect the doctrine of ostensible or apparent agency when patients reasonably assume a given medical staff member was an employee of the hospital.
- Expert Testimony: New Jersey law requires that a patient file within no more than sixty (60) days an affidavit from a medical expert witness that states reasonable probability exists in the given case that shows negligence did occur.
Getting Legal Help with New Jersey Medical Negligence Claims
In short, a patient will ultimately need to seek the guidance, insight, and representation of a medical malpractice lawyer in order to recover damages for claims of medical negligence. The aforementioned items are simply some of the most notable state variations, which are subject to change, and furthermore, a wide list of other New Jersey specific elements may be applicable to your personal claims case.
