State News

Adding its voice to the rising debate on medical malpractice reform, the New Jersey State Bar Association May 13 adopted a resolution calling for the state legislature to rethink its proposed $50-per-year assessment on attorneys' licenses to help fund a state kitty that would pay up to $700,000 in non-economic damages to victims of medical malpractice. The resolution, drawn up by a group formed in January ' the New Jersey State Bar Association Task Force on Medical Malpractice ' was formulated in response to the New Jersey State Senate's 35-to-2 approval March 20 of a bill that would, among other things, place a $300,000 limit on physician liability for non-economic medical malpractice damages. As part of that legislation, the state would set up a fund ' called the Medical Malpractice Insurance Liability Excess Fund ' to pay up to an additional $700,000 in non-economic damages, should a jury award more than the $300,000 limit. The money to fund this program would come from a $50 assessment on each New Jersey attorney's license to practice, as well as from a $3 fee per employee, collected from the state's employers.

The Bar's resolution was formulated following input from its members who represent doctors, hospitals, the insurance industry and patients. In addition, representatives of the Bar Association met with members of the state legislature, New Jersey's governor Jim McGreevey and members of the U.S. Congress.