A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) triggers a question as to whether the standard of care to evaluate claims for medical malpractice should be changed. For decades, the New Jersey Model Civil Jury Charge has instructed jurors to measure the conduct of a defendant physician against the
As we reported recently in a Client Alert, the Supreme Court of New Jersey’s recent decision in Rivera v. The Valley Hospital, Inc. aligned with prior case law in confirming that punitive damages in medical malpractice actions are only available in “exceptional cases.” Although the Rivera decision does not immunize medical defendants from claims