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NJ PHYSICIANS ENLIST DEFENSE LAWYERS IN TORT REFORM BATTLE

TRENTON, NJ -- Battered by the high costs of medical malpractice premiums, the ever-present threat of lawsuits and an increase in jury awards against healthcare professionals, New Jersey doctors are turning to an unlikely ally - lawyers.

NJ Physicians, an association of the state's medical doctors, has enlisted defense attorneys in an effort to help level a legal playing field that doctors say is tilted in favor of trial lawyers and their plaintiffs.
 
On January 15, NJ Physicians convened the first-ever meeting of its Medical Malpractice Defense Bar. The meeting, attended by approximately 25 of the most prominent defense lawyers in the state, was unusual in that defense attorneys have been slower to organize around common issues and concerns than their colleagues on the other side of the bar - trial lawyers.
 
Taking a page out of the trial lawyers' playbook, the doctors and defense lawyers resolved to make a concerted effort to get defense lawyers better represented on task forces and rules committees of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Supreme Court of New Jersey that help shape the litigation process, including the rules of practice, procedure and evidence.
 
NJ Physicians also committed itself to actively submitting amicus curiae or friend of the court briefs to support doctors and the medical profession, and using its Medical Malpractice Defense Bar to identify appropriate cases to join.
 
"One of the reasons our health care system in New Jersey is in trouble is the large number of lawsuits and rising jury awards against doctors and hospitals, which contribute to the high cost of care," said Ronald White, MD, JD, President of NJ Physicians and a Bergen County surgeon. "Achieving meaningful tort reform is one of NJ Physicians' cornerstone goals. To succeed, we must work on every front - from lobbying and direct advocacy, to greater involvement with our court system's rulemaking process, to joining court cases that can impact the accessibility and affordability of quality healthcare."
 
NJ Physicians Medical Malpractice Defense Bar established committees with charges that include tracking and developing policy on legislative and regulatory matters, identifying potential amicus curiae opportunities, addressing ways to achieve greater representation on judicial committees, and educating physicians on how to avoid malpractice cases.
 
"Greater involvement by the defense bar is a critical component of improving the litigation environment," Dr. White added. "The enormous experience, expertise and talent of the defense bar has not, until now, been coordinated and organized in a manner which best uses these resources for the benefit of physicians and their patients."