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New Jersey's Tort Claims Act

By Robert E. Spitzer and Patricia M. Wason
July 01, 2016

Is there a bright-line rule for when a claimant (potential plaintiff) is put on notice of a physician's status as a public employee for purposes of New Jersey's Tort Claims Act? The answer may be found in the matter of Biassou v. Fitzsimmons, Docket No. A-2123-13T1 (App. Div. Oct. 22, 2015), in which the trial court and Appellate Division ruled that a plaintiff's claims were barred under the Tort Claims Act for failing to timely file a notice of claim. For accrual purposes of filing a notice of claim, the trial court held, and the Appellate Division affirmed, that as of receipt of the defendant's physician's answer, the plaintiff was on notice of his status as a public employee ' and the claim accrued. Did those rulings create a pragmatic bright-line rule for accrual purposes of the time to file a notice of claim and, if so, were they fair?

The Law

Generally, under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act (TCA), which is codified at N.J.S.A. 59:1-1, et seq., immunity for public entities and public employees is the rule, and liability is the exception. New Jersey's Supreme Court has recognized that the TCA is strictly construed to permit lawsuits only where specifically delineated.

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