Meehan v. Antonellis, D.M.D., (075265) (A-45-14)

New Jersey Supreme Court holds that enhanced requirements of the Patients First Act apply only to physicians in medical malpractice actions.

The plaintiff filed suit against an orthodontist alleging negligence in the treatment of sleep apnea. The plaintiff served an Affidavit of Merit (AOM) from a prosthodontist who had 20 years experience in treating sleep apnea. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss on the grounds the AOM was insufficient as the affiant was not a similarly qualified orthodontist. The Appellate Division affirmed, concluding the affiant lacked requisite statutory qualifications. However, the Supreme Court reversed, holding the enhanced requirements of N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-41, dealing with similar board certifications and medical specialties, applies only to physicians in medical malpractice cases. As the statute repeatedly applies only to “physicians,” the court found no textual support for expanding the application of like qualified requirements to other licensed professionals, such as dentists and nurses. For non-physician defendants, the affiant must simply be licensed and have particular expertise in the general area or specialty involved in the action. In reaching this decision, the Supreme Court put a stop to the ever-mounting AOM challenges in what they called a “procedural minefield…spawning a new subset of motion practice in professional liability litigation.”

 

Case Law Alerts, 4th Quarter, October 2016. Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2016 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.