Medical Malpractice Law - Table of Contents
The following is the table of contents to the textbook written by one of our partners.
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NEW JERSEY
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
LAW
(4th Ed. 2009)
By Abbott S. Brown
Edited by Richard E. Brennan
Chapter One:
The Duty of a Health Care Provider
[Sec. 1] The Generally Accepted Standard of Care...........................................................................................1
[Sec. 2] The Role of the Physician’s Judgment................................................................................... 6
[Sec. 3] Personal Standards Distinguished.............................................................................18
[Sec. 4] The Duty of the Examining or Consulting Physician................................................................................... 20
[Sec. 5] The Duty of a Specialist...................................................................................28
[Sec. 6] The Standard of Care for a Hospital Resident Physician...................................................................................30
[Sec. 7] The Duty of a Supervisor.................................................................................32
[Sec. 8] The Duty of a Supervisor of Nurses....................................................................................... 34
[Sec. 9] The Duty of a Credentialer...............................................................................35
[Sec. 10] The Duty of an Employer...................................................................................37
[Sec. 11] The Scope of Chiropractic Care...........................................................................................40
[Sec. 12] The Duty of the Referring Physician...................................................................................43
[Sec. 13] The Liability of a Workers’ Compensation Carrier for The Negligence of an Examining Physician..............................43
[Sec. 14] Duty of a Health Maintenance Organization.............................................................................45
[Sec. 15] Duty of the Emergency Department...............................................................................47
[Sec. 16] Duty of a Nursing Home.......................................................................................48
[Sec. 17] The Non-Delegable Duty of a Jail or Prison......................................................................................49
[Sec. 18] The Duty of Confidentiality........................................................................50
[Sec. 19] The Duty to Keep the Diagnosis of Aids Confidential............................................................................54
[Sec. 20] The Duty to Keep Psychiatric Records Confidential...........................................................................55
[Sec. 21] The Duty to Provide Genetic Counseling.............................................................................59
[Sec. 22] The Duty Regarding Treatment of a Body......................................................................................61
[Sec. 23] The Duty to the Elderly and Infirm Patient...................................................................................62
[Sec. 24] The Duty to a Suicidal Patient...................................................................................62
[Sec. 25] Termination of the Duty of Care......................................................................................65
[Sec. 26] The Duty to Terminate Care......................................................................................66
[Sec. 27] The Duty to Testify or Provide Litigation Support.................................................................................66
[Sec. 28] The Duty to Maintain Insurance..............................................................................68
Chapter Two: The Duty of Informed Consent and Refusal
[Sec. 29] The Fully-Informed Patient.................................................................................71
[Sec. 30] The Doctrine of Informed Consent and Refusal................................................................................73
[Sec. 31] The Reasonable Patient Standard..............................................................................101
[Sec. 32] The Duty to Advise a Patient of Test Results.................................................................................106
[Sec. 33] Assault and Battery Distinguished.......................................................................108
[Sec. 34] Expert Witnesses in Informed Consent Cases...................................................................................115
[Sec. 35] Proximate Causation in Informed Consent Cases...................................................................................120
[Sec. 36] The Statute of Limitations in the Informed Consent Case....................................................................................126
Chapter Three: Other Causes of Action
[Sec. 37] Strict Liability in Tort.....................................................................................129
[Sec. 38] Abandonment......................................................................129
[Sec. 39] Fraud...................................................................................131
[Sec. 40] Breach of Contract...............................................................................137
[Sec. 41] False Imprisonment.......................................................................138
[Sec. 42] The Mishandling of a Corpse.................................................................................139
[Sec. 43] The Unauthorized Autopsy................................................................................139
[Sec. 44] False Diagnosis of Disease................................................................................140
[Sec. 45] Alteration or Destruction of Medical Records...............................................................................140
[Sec. 46] Sexual Misconduct..........................................................................143
Chapter Four:
The Requirement of Expert Testimony
[Sec. 47] The Requirement of Expert Testimony.............................................................................145
[Sec. 48] Expert Testimony in Malpractice Cases....................................................................................146
[Sec. 49] Res Ipsa Loquitur...............................................................................152
[Sec. 50] The Common Knowledge Doctrine...............................................................................163
[Sec. 51] The Anderson v. Somberg Doctrine...............................................................................172
[Sec. 52] Expert Testimony in Informed Consent Cases...................................................................................178
[Sec. 53] The Qualification of the Expert Witness................................................................................184
[Sec. 54] The Foundation for Expert Testimony............................................................................192
[Sec. 55] The Net Opinion Rule.....................................................................................196
[Sec. 56] The Requirements of the Expert Report..................................................................................205
[Sec. 57] The New Jersey Medical Care Access and Responsibility and Patients First Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53a-38 et seq.......................................................................................209
[Sec. 58] The Affidavit of Merit....................................................................................215
[Sec. 59] The Jacober Rule/Learned Treatises..............................................................................251
[Sec. 60] The Physicians’ Desk Reference/Package Inserts..................................................................................257
[Sec. 61] Hospital Protocols and Procedure Manuals...............................................................................260
[Sec. 62] Recommendations of Professional Medical Boards or Organizations.......................................................................261
[Sec. 63] Recommendations of the American Medical Association..........................................................................262
[Sec. 64] Statutes and Administrative Codes..................................................................................264
[Sec. 65] Discovery of Treatises to be Utilized as Evidence of the Standard of Care.................................................................268
[Sec. 66] Compelling Expert Testimony/Use of the Adversary’s Expert.................................................................................268
[Sec. 67] Refusal or Inability of an Expert to Testify.................................................................................274
Chapter Five: Proximate Causation
[Sec. 68] Proximate Causation.............................................................................277
[Sec. 69] Reasonable Degree of Medical Probability...........................................................................277
[Sec. 70] Pre-Existing Condition.............................................................................281
[Sec. 71] Loss of a Chance.................................................................................304
[Sec. 72] Aggravation of a Prior Independent Tort......................................................................................307
[Sec. 73] Pain and Suffering...............................................................................312
[Sec. 74] Avoidable Consequences/Comparative Negligence...........................................................................314
[Sec. 75] Proximate Causation in the Informed Consent Case.....................................................................................320
Chapter Six: Damages
[Sec. 76] Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases....................................................................................327
[Sec. 77] Delay in Treatment..............................................................................327
[Sec. 78] Pain and Suffering............................................................................... 330
[Sec. 79] Hedonic Damages............................................................................... 333
[Sec. 80] Disability...............................................................................335
[Sec. 81] Economic Loss........................................................................................336
[Sec. 82] Medical Bills........................................................................................338
[Sec. 83] Medical Liens.......................................................................................342
[Sec. 84] Injuries to a Fetus/Preconception Injuries....................................................................................343
[Sec. 85] Loss of a Fetus........................................................................................346
[Sec. 86] Injuries to a Child........................................................................................349
[Sec. 87] Wrongful Death........................................................................................351
[Sec. 88] Wrongful Death of a Child........................................................................................353
[Sec.89] Wrongful Death after a Prior Medical Malpractice Suit...........................................................................................355
[Sec. 90] Wrongful Birth..........................................................................................358
[Sec. 91] Emotional Distress.....................................................................................372
[Sec. 92] Emotional Distress of Relatives....................................................................................374
[Sec. 93] Punitive Damages.....................................................................................388
[Sec. 94] Per Quod...........................................................................................391
[Sec. 95] Remittitur of Damages.....................................................................................392
Chapter Seven: Pre-Suit Investigation of a Medical Malpractice Claim
[Sec. 96] Pre-Suit Investigation of a Medical Malpractice Claim...........................................................................................395
[Sec. 97] The Statutory and Administrative Code Regulations Regarding Medical Records .....................................................395
[Sec. 98] Legibility Requirements for Medical Records.......................................................................................397
[Sec. 99] Incident Reports........................................................................................398
[Sec. 100] The Patient Safety Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-12.23...........................................................................................398
[Sec. 101] Pre-Suit Investigation of Serious Preventable Adverse Events.........................................................................................400
[Sec. 102] Peer Review/Committee Reports.......................................................................................402
[Sec. 103] Sentinel Event Reports.......................................................................................408
[Sec. 104] Pre-Suit Interviews of Health Care Professionals..............................................................................408
[Sec. 105] Declining a Medical Malpractice Case...........................................................................................410
Chapter Eight: The Pleadings, Defenses, and Voir Dire in Medical Malpractice Cases
[Sec. 106] The Pleadings and Defenses in Medical Malpractice Cases..........................................................................................413
[Sec. 107] Parties........................................................................................413
[Sec. 108] Service on Absent Defendants.................................................................................415
[Sec. 109] Comparative Negligence and Avoidable Consequences............................................................................416
[Sec. 110] Affidavit of Non-Involvement...............................................................................420
[Sec. 111] The Statute of Limitations................................................................................421
[Sec. 112] The Discovery Rule......................................................................................... 422
[Sec. 113] Failure to Advise or Concealment of Malpractice and the Statute of Limitations..........................................................450
[Sec. 114] Continuing Treatment and the Statute of Limitations...............................................................................454
[Sec. 115] Incompetency/Insanity and the Statute of Limitations...............................................................................454
[Sec. 116] Infancy/Parents’ Claim for Injuries to a Child and the Statute of Limitations...............................................................455
[Sec. 117] The Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death.......................................................................................457
[Sec. 118] Latent Disease/Recurrent Cancer and the Statute of Limitations..............................................................................461
[Sec. 119] Charitable and Other Immunities...............................................................................463
[Sec. 120] Tort Claims Immunity..................................................................................469
[Sec. 121] The Notice of Tort Claim.......................................................................................474
[Sec. 122] Workers’ Compensation Defenses..................................................................................475
[Sec. 123] Lack of Jurisdiction..............................................................................478
[Sec. 124] Crossclaims.............................................................................479
[Sec. 125] Representation of Multiple Defendants...............................................................................483
[Sec. 126] Counterclaims by Defendants.............................................................................. 489
[Sec. 127] The Entire Controversy Doctrine.................................................................................. 489
[Sec. 128] Voir Dire in Medical Malpractice Cases...................................................................................... 490
Chapter Nine: Pretrial Discovery in Medical Malpractice Cases
[Sec. 129] Pretrial Discovery in Medical Malpractice Cases...................................................................................... 495
[Sec. 130] Priority of Discovery................................................................................495
[Sec. 131] Obtaining The Plaintiff’s Medical Records, and Interviewing Plaintiff’s Medical Professionals.......................496
[Sec. 132] Use of a Subpoena to Obtain Medical Records...................................................................................499
[Sec. 133] Interrogatories.........................................................................500
[Sec. 134] Production of Expert Reports....................................................................................505
[Sec. 135] Use of an Adversary’s Expert......................................................................................508
[Sec. 136] Depositions of Parties......................................................................................511
[Sec. 137] Depositions of Experts.....................................................................................517
[Sec. 138] Material Change in Testimony by a Witness....................................................................................520
[Sec. 139] Depositions and Use of the Opinions of Treating Doctors....................................................................................523
[Sec. 140] Depositions of Subsequent Treating Psychiatrists or Mental Health Care Professionals...........................................531
[Sec. 141] Opinions in Medical Records...................................................................................533
[Sec. 142] Medical Examiner’s/Autopsy Reports....................................................................................534
[Sec. 143] Records and Reports of the Board of Health or the Board of Medical Examiners..................................................536
[Sec. 144] Scope of the Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses...............................................................................538
Statutes
N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-26 to -29 The “Affidavit of Merit” Statute....................................................................................543
N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-37 to -42. The New Jersey Medical Care Access and Responsibility and Patients First Act............................544
N.J.S.A. 26:2H-12.23 to -12.26. The Patient Safety Act.........................................................................................648
N.J.S.A. 26:8-5. Institutional Records.................................................................................553
N.J.S.A. 45:9-22.21 to -22.25. The New Jersey Health Care Consumer Information Act...................................................553
New Jersey Administrative Code
N.J.A.C. 8:43g-4.1. Patient Rights...................................................................................558
N.J.A.C. 8:43g-15.2. Medical Records Policies and Procedures...........................................................................561
N.J.A.C. 8:43g-15.3. Medical Record Patient Services...............................................................................564
N.J.A.C. 11:24-10.4. Copies of Medical Records...............................................................................565
N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.5 Preparation of Patient Records, Computerized Records, Access to or
Release of Information; Confidentiality, Transfer or Disposal of Records...............................................................................565
Model Medical Malpractice Voir Dire ............................................................................................571
Standard Jury Voir Dire (Medical Malpractice) ............................................................................................574
Model Jury Charges ............................................................................................576
5.50 Medical Negligence..........................................................................576
5.50A Duty and Negligence..........................................................................576
5.50B Common Knowledge may Furnish Standard of Care....................................................................................578
5.50C Informed Consent (Competent Adult and No Emergency)........................................................................580
5.50E Pre-Existing Condition — Increased Risk/Loss of Chance — Proximate Cause.................................................................................582
Jury Interrogatories............................................................586
5.50F Wrongful Birth and Life (Updated)...........................................................................587
5.50G Medical Judgment.............................................................................591
5.50H Alteration of Medical Records...............................................................................592
5.50I Fraudulent Concealment of Medical Records...............................................................................593
Cases...................................................................................597
Statutes.................................................................................610
Rules....................................................................................613
Regulations...........................................................................614
Other Authorities............................................................................615
Index ..............................................................................................617