Fairness. Justice.
Rule of Law.
In 6 – 1 Decision, N.J. Supreme Court Guts Affidavit of Merit Statute
January 23, 2013Plaintiffs’ attorneys are able to use experts from “outside the field” to testify against doctors in malpractice suits.
Read More »Court Will Review Drunken Drivers’ Right To Sue Bars That Served Them
January 22, 2013The state Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether drunken drivers injured in accidents they cause can sue the liquor establishments that served them.
State insurance law bars them from bringing personal injury claims against other drivers, but the Court has never ruled on whether that statute takes precedence over the dram shop act, which makes liquor establishments liable for serving visibly intoxicated patrons.
Read More »Op-Ed: School legal costs are a killer
January 21, 2013In recent months, school funding has been hotly debated by many sides. And the most infamous school litigation of the past two decades, Abbott vs. Burke, is routinely invoked as a major cost driver in education. Whether or not you support the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decisions, which required equalized funding between the state’s richest and poorest school districts, most of us acknowledge that school districts must look for ways to cut waste from their budgets.
What’s often overlooked is the cumulative effect non-Abbott litigation has on school budgets.
Read More »Appeal Bond Cap on the table in New Jersey
January 20, 2013Legislation pending in New Jersey would limit the amount a losing party would have to post as a bond for its appeal to $50 million.
Read More »Assembly Committee Moves A-2473 Unanimously
January 19, 2013Thank you to all of NJLRA’s supporters who testified, to Assemblymen Gary Schaer and John McKeon for sponsoring it, and Chairwoman Pou for hearing it in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Read more about the Appeal Bond Cap here.
Read More »Assembly Appropriations Committee to hear A-2473, capping appeal bonds, on Thursday, June 17th.
January 18, 2013Tell the members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee to support A-2473. Click here for sample language.
Read More »NJLRA’s Testimony in support of A-1982
January 17, 2013For many aspiring medical students at New Jersey’s institutions, the dream of practicing specialized medicine faces significant financial hurdles. In addition to a high cost of living and student loans, young doctors must also be prepared to absorb the cost of malpractice insurance premiums. And specialties which carry the highest premiums tend to disproportionately impact women, as New Jersey’s OBGYNs face some of the highest rates in the nation. NJLRA spoke to one such casualty of the system a few months back, a medical student who had invested well over one hundred thousand dollars into his education and had lived in New Jersey his entire life. He sadly realized that he would not be able to afford to practice obstetrics – his lifelong dream – unless he did so in another state with lower premiums.
Read More »Statement from Women’s Legislative Caucus on Hearing into Women’s Healthcare Disparities
January 16, 2013(TRENTON) – The co-chairs of the bipartisan, bicameral Women’s Legislative Caucus today issued the following statement after more than three hours of illuminating testimony into the growing lack of access to women’s healthcare services and the possible contributing factors:
“The information we found out today was disturbing, enlightening, and most importantly, a call to action. Within the next 10 years, New Jersey will be facing an alarming shortage of physicians, particularly in fields such as obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics, which disproportionately impact women and their families.
Read More »Assembly Committee to hear Medical Malpractice Reform Legislation on Thursday, June 10th 2010
January 15, 2013A-1982 concerns liability, standards of care, and insurance coverage for medical malpractice actions. Among other things, A-1982 would:
- Require that a provider had a relationship with a patient filing suit;
- Prevent insurance carriers from raising malpractice premiums based on a claim of medical malpractice, unless the physician is found liable in court;
- Require that physicians and healthcare professionals providing “expert testimony” be licensed in New Jersey;
- Narrow the window for filing suit to not more than four years after the date of the alleged incident occurred; and
- Protect volunteer physicians acting in good faith from civil liability.
A-1982 will be posted for discussion only, so be sure to tell your legislators to support A-1982/S-760.
Read More »Study finds New Jersey a tough place for defendants
January 14, 2013SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – New Jersey and New York are the two states with the highest combination of tort costs and risk, according to a study published by free-market think tank Pacific Research Institute.
Read More »