When a hospital’s negligence causes patient harm in New Jersey, injured individuals may pursue a medical malpractice claim. To succeed, you’ll need to prove the hospital or its staff failed to meet the accepted standard of care and that this failure directly caused your injuries. New Jersey law requires an affidavit of merit from a qualified medical expert and gives most adult victims two years to file suit.
As a personal injury firm serving clients throughout New Jersey, The Grossman Law Firm has helped many individuals harmed by hospital negligence understand their legal options. Our team knows how these cases unfold in New Jersey courts and what it takes to hold hospitals accountable. Through our 27+ years of legal service, we’ve won millions in compensation for individuals and families harmed by the negligence of others.
Free consultation with The Grossman Law Firm. We never charge lawyer fees unless and until you win. Call us today at (732) 625-9494.
What Counts as Hospital Error in New Jersey?
Hospital errors fall under the broader category of medical malpractice. New Jersey law describes medical malpractice as a type of negligence claim when a healthcare provider’s carelessness or substandard treatment causes harm to a patient.
Common types of hospital errors include:
- Surgical mistakes, such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside patients
- Medication errors, including wrong drugs, incorrect dosages, or harmful drug interactions
- Diagnostic failures, like missed diagnoses or delayed diagnosis of serious conditions
- Infections acquired during hospital stays
- Falls due to inadequate patient monitoring
- Communication breakdowns between medical staff
- Equipment failures or misuse.
Not every bad outcome amounts to malpractice. Some degree of risk is inherent in medical care. The law doesn’t require hospitals to guarantee perfect results. It requires them to meet the standard of care that other reasonably competent healthcare providers would meet under similar circumstances.
Proving a Hospital Error Claim
New Jersey medical malpractice claims require proof of four key elements. You must establish each one to recover compensation:
- Duty of care. First, you need to show the hospital owed you a legal duty. This duty arises from the provider-patient relationship. When you seek treatment at a hospital, the facility and its staff take on a responsibility to treat you according to accepted professional standards.
- Breach of the standard of care. Next, you must prove the hospital or its employees failed to meet that standard. The standard of care is typically defined as what a fairly competent provider with similar training would do in the same circumstances. Expert testimony from qualified medical professionals is almost always required to establish what the standard was and how it was breached.
- Causation. Third, you must connect the breach directly to your injuries. This means showing that the hospital’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing your harm. It’s not enough that negligence occurred and you were later injured. The negligence must have actually caused or significantly contributed to the injury.
- Damages. Finally, you need to prove you suffered actual harm. This can include physical injuries, emotional distress, additional medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Attorney Scott D. Grossman and our legal team work closely with medical experts who can evaluate whether your case meets these requirements. Building a strong hospital error claim takes careful investigation and professional medical opinions.
How New Jersey Courts Handle Hospital Liability
Hospitals can face liability in two main ways: direct liability and vicarious liability.
Direct Hospital Liability
Hospitals may be held directly responsible when institutional failures cause patient harm. This includes negligent hiring practices, failing to properly credential medical staff, inadequate staffing levels, or not maintaining safe facilities and equipment. If a hospital knew or should have known that a staff member posed a risk to patients and failed to act, the hospital itself may be liable.
Vicarious Liability
Under the legal doctrine known as “respondeat superior,” hospitals can also be held responsible for the negligent acts of their employees. This applies when doctors, nurses, technicians, or other staff members cause harm while performing their job duties. The key question is whether the negligent person was acting within the scope of their employment.
However, many doctors work as independent contractors rather than hospital employees. This can complicate liability questions. Courts look at factors like who controls the physician’s work, how they’re paid, and whether they have their own practice outside the hospital.
The Grossman Law Firm has experience sorting through these complex liability issues. We know how to identify all potentially responsible parties and build claims against each.
New Jersey’s Affidavit of Merit Requirement
New Jersey law imposes a special requirement on medical malpractice plaintiffs. Under state statute, within 60 days after the defendant files an answer to your lawsuit, you must provide an affidavit of merit from a qualified expert.
This affidavit must state that there’s a reasonable probability that the care you received fell outside acceptable professional standards. The expert signing the affidavit must be licensed and have relevant expertise in the same medical specialty as the defendant.
For medical malpractice claims specifically, the expert must be board-certified in the same specialty or subspecialty as the defendant physician. This requirement comes from New Jersey’s Patients First Act.
The court may grant one 60-day extension for good cause. But failing to provide a proper affidavit within the allowed time can result in dismissal of your case. This requirement exists to filter out claims that lack medical support early in the process.
This is one reason why working with an experienced hospital error attorney matters. Our firm has relationships with qualified medical experts across specialties who can evaluate cases and provide the necessary affidavits.
Time Limits for Filing Your Claim
New Jersey has strict deadlines for medical malpractice lawsuits. Understanding these limits is crucial because missing them typically means losing your right to sue.
- General two-year rule. Most adult patients have two years from the date of injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in New Jersey. This deadline is set by New Jersey personal injury law.
- Discovery rule. Sometimes, injuries from hospital errors aren’t immediately apparent. New Jersey courts apply a “discovery rule” that can extend the deadline. Under this rule, the two-year period doesn’t start until you knew or reasonably should have known that medical negligence may have caused your harm. However, if you rely on this exception, you’ll need to prove you couldn’t have discovered the malpractice earlier.
- Special rules for minors. Children injured by medical malpractice generally have until two years after their 18th birthday to file suit. But birth injury claims have a different rule. If a child suffers a birth injury, the lawsuit must be filed before the child’s 13th birthday.
- Wrongful death. If a loved one died due to hospital negligence, family members have two years from the date of death to sue for wrongful death.
These deadlines can be complex, especially when multiple rules might apply. Consulting with an attorney early helps ensure you don’t miss critical filing windows.
What Compensation May Be Available
New Jersey doesn’t cap (limit) compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases. This means there’s no law-imposed limit on what you can recover for your actual losses.
- Economic damages. These cover measurable financial losses like medical bills, future treatment costs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and rehabilitation expenses.
- Non-economic damages. These compensate for harder-to-quantify harms such as physical pain, emotional suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and disfigurement.
- Punitive damages. In rare cases involving especially reckless conduct, courts may award punitive damages to punish the defendant. These are separate from compensatory damages, and New Jersey law caps these at $350,000 or five times the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is greater.
The Scale of Hospital Errors
Hospital errors remain a serious public health concern. According to a recent nationwide analysis from Yale University, about 22,165 preventable deaths occur in US hospitals each year. It also found that more than 7,150 of those who died were previously healthy and had longer life expectancy prior to the medical error.
The Yale analysis found that these were the most common errors in hospitals leading to patient death:
- Clinical management and monitoring issues
- Diagnostic errors
- Complications in surgeries or other procedures
- Complications related to drugs or fluids
- Infection-related errors, including antibiotic choice.
In separate research, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that adverse drug events alone account for nearly 700,000 emergency department visits and 100,000 hospitalizations each year.
These statistics underscore why holding hospitals accountable matters for patient safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue a hospital if a doctor made a mistake during my treatment?
It depends on the doctor’s employment status. If the doctor is a hospital employee, the hospital may be vicariously liable under respondeat superior. If the doctor is an independent contractor, the hospital might avoid liability for that doctor’s actions, though the hospital could still be directly liable if it was negligent in credentialing or supervising the physician.
How long do I have to file a hospital error lawsuit in New Jersey?
Most adults have two years from the date of injury, though the discovery rule may extend this if the injury wasn’t immediately apparent. Birth injury claims must be filed before the child turns 13. These deadlines are strict, so consulting an attorney promptly is important.
What is an affidavit of merit, and why do I need one?
An affidavit of merit is a sworn statement from a qualified medical expert confirming that your case has legitimate grounds. New Jersey law requires plaintiffs to provide this document within 60 days of the defendant’s answer, with one possible 60-day extension. Without it, your case may be dismissed.
Do I need a medical expert to pursue a hospital error claim?
Almost always, yes. Expert testimony is required to establish the standard of care, prove how it was breached, and show that the breach caused your injuries. Only in rare cases where negligence is obvious to laypeople, like a surgical instrument left inside a patient, might expert testimony not be required.
Key Points to Remember
- Hospital error claims require proof of duty, breach, causation, and damages.
- New Jersey law mandates an affidavit of merit from a qualified medical expert within strict time limits.
- Hospitals may face direct liability for institutional failures or vicarious liability for employee negligence.
- The general statute of limitations is two years, but exceptions apply for minors, birth injuries, and cases involving delayed discovery.
- New Jersey doesn’t limit compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases.
Contact The Grossman Law Firm for Help With Your Hospital Error Case
If you or a loved one suffered harm due to hospital negligence in New Jersey, understanding your legal options is the first step toward seeking justice.
Scott D. Grossman, Esq. is a respected personal injury attorney serving clients throughout New Jersey.
Call (732) 625-9494 to schedule a free consultation.
