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Statute of Limitations

Actions must be commenced within two years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint, or two years from the date the injury was or should have reasonably been discovered

Comparative or contributory negligence

modified comparative negligence, a claimant's action is barred if his negligence exceeds the combined negligence of all defendants

Nature of accused's liability

If a defendant is more than 60% at fault for the cause of the plaintiff's injury, each defendant is liable for damages only in an amount proportionate to that defendant's fault

Law of contribution

The Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Law provides for contribution when one defendant has paid more than his share of a judgment

Expert testimony standards

Expert witnesses must be licensed and practising in the same field as the defendant

Limits on compensation

Punitive damages are capped at 5 times actual damages or $350,000.00, whichever is more

Limits on attorney fees

Attorney fees are limited to 1/3 of the first $500,000recovered, 30% of the next $500,000, 25% of the next $500,000, and 20% of the next $500,000. Attorney fees are limited to 25% for actions where the plaintiff is a minor or is incompetent

Collateral Source rule enforced

Cases in New Jersey have a mandatory offset for payments from collateral sources, with the exception of workers' compensation benefits and life insurance.

State and local health care providers immune from liabaility

The state of New Jersey has waived sovereign immunity.

Select Your State

Select Your State

Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Medical malpractice law varies from state to state, the key areas of difference are as follows

• Statute of limitations
• The law of comparative or contributory negligence
• The nature of the accused's liability
• Law of contribution
• Standards for expert testimony
• Limitations on compensation
• Limitiations on attorney fees
• Whether collateral source law is in effect
• Are state health care providers immune from liability