NJ Court Rejects Bright-Line Rule for Affidavit in Hospital Suit

A New Jersey woman can proceed with medical negligence claims against a hospital after a state appeals court said she didn’t need to name particular individuals or employees in an expert affidavit supporting her suit.

A registered nurse’s statement that the hospital and its “nursing staff” deviated from acceptable standards of medical care when treating plaintiff LaXavier Hood’s mother complied with New Jersey’s requirement that such complaints be accompanied by affidavits attesting to their merit, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, said in an unsigned opinion.

New Jersey’s affidavit-of-merit statute doesn’t require naming every person alleged to have been ...