Wrongful Death
NJ Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Advance S-176/A-1511, The Wrongful Death Act
The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee approved S-176, which amends New Jersey's wrongful death act to allow unlimited emotional damages in wrongful death cases.
The bill now moves to the Senate Budget Committee for consideration on January 3rd. MSNJ urges its members and partners to contact their Senators, members of the Senate Budget Committee, and Senate President Richard Codey and oppose passage of this bill by the full Senate.
A-1511 is sponsored by Assemblywomen Oliver (D-34), Greenstein (D-14) and Cruz-Perez (D-5). It is on second reading in the Assembly and will probably be posted for a vote on January 7, 2008.
If S-176/A-1511 is enacted, New Jersey would be one of only eight states in the nation (the others are Arkansas, Vermont, Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Ohio, and Oklahoma) to allow unlimited emotional damages in wrongful death cases.
S-176/A-1511, if enacted, will:
- Escalate already outrageously expensive medical malpractice premiums;
- Make New Jersey one of the most plaintiff-friendly states in the nation for alleged wrongful death suits;
- Undermine the fairness of NJ's courts by giving juries free rein to impose unlimited and highly-subjective awards;
- Create the threat of huge, disproportionate damage awards that will drive up insurance and healthcare costs to the residents of NJ; and
- Further pinch businesses in NJ, especially small businesses, and drive more companies and investment from New Jersey.
Action Needed Today!
Please call, email or fax your State Legislators today to ask them to OPPOSE the Wrongful Death Act.
Testimony of Eileen Kean before the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee, December 10, 2007
Good morning. My name is Eileen Kean and I am the Director of Government Affairs for the Medical Society of New Jersey. MSNJ, founded in 1766, is the oldest professional organization in the country. Today we represent approximately 8,000 physicians from every specialty and all areas of the state. We are the State's largest and only physician organization that represents all physician interests.
On behalf of my membership and the patients we serve, I am urging you to oppose S-176 Currently the Governor, the Department of Banking and Insurance, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Legislature are pushing to develop transparency in our insurance and healthcare systems. This bill will expand the type of damages for which one may bring a law suit to include loss of society, companionship, comfort, protection, marital care, parental care, filial care, attention, advice, counsel, training, guidance or education. In other words, this bill will be an open check book for all juries awarding plaintiff damages, and it will automatically end progress towards transparency. Recently, the administration has promoted the return of auto insurance carriers to the state. Not only will this bill drive away carriers, but it will push businesses out of the state when confronted with this new business exposure.
The current law allows for adequate damages to be awarded to a plaintiff that has undergone the tragic loss of life of a loved one due to negligence. Amending the statute to allow damages for emotional losses, mental anguish and emotional pain and suffering will subject healthcare providers to inconceivable jury awards which would directly result in increased medical malpractice premiums for physicians. As you well know, the already high cost of medical malpractice premiums is driving doctors out of the state. New Jersey already has a shortage of OB-GYN doctors, neurosurgeons and family practitioners. Do we want to continue to push our physicians to our neighboring border states? ( fact on number of residents who don't stay in NJ - the reason our scholarship program was dropped) Healthcare providers are already experiencing great difficulty in keeping up with increases in malpractice insurance coverage premiums.
If the committee does move the bill today, MSNJ asks for an amendment to impose a $250,000 cap on non-economic damage awards something other states have done to limit the size of medical malpractice awards. Caps have a significant effect on reducing the growth of medical malpractice premiums and the cap has been extremely successful in lowering premiums in Texas and California.
S-176 will impact insurance coverage for all businesses in the state. Ultimately the policyholder will suffer. The results of this legislation will be more lawsuits, greater liability of individuals and increased insurance costs. The intent of the Tort Claims Act is to limit non economic damages because of their uncertainty, and thus expanding the availability of pain and suffering damages is contrary to the legislative intent. It is inappropriate to expand the class of persons who may sue under a wrongful death action as well as the types of damages for which such a suit may be brought. I thank you for considering my amendment to cap non-economic damages and the opportunity to oppose s-176.