Our partner Jennifer Barr argued a case before the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday, Jan. 31, 2022. The issue before the New Jersey Supreme Court was whether an Affidavit of Merit is required for a complaint alleging medical negligence against a medical facility based only on a theory of vicarious liability. Plaintiff alleged that a radiology technician had plaintiff bear weight in order to capture an image, which allegedly aggravated Plaintiff’s injured shoulder. Plaintiff claimed that the medical facility was vicariously liable, but did not provide an Affidavit of Merit. Cooper Levenson represents the medical facility, Lourdes Medical Center, arguing that an Affidavit of Merit is required for allegations of deviation from the standards of medical care by its employee. Affidavits of Merit are required for enumerated licensed professionals, including medical facilities, but not radiology technicians. The New Jersey Supreme Court will determine if the Affidavit of Merit Act requires plaintiff to provide an Affidavit for the direct claim against the technician and the vicarious claim against the medical facility.
The webcast will be made available at the New Jersey Supreme Court Webcast page at https://www.njcourts.gov/public/webcast_archive.html.
For further information on this or other matters contact John Talvacchia or Jennifer Barr.
