5
EXPLANATION - Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets
[
thus
]
in the above bill
is not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.
Matter underlined thus is new matter.
h. Copies of any documents produced in response to the request of
any party shall be provided to all other parties, and prepared at the
expense of the requesting party. The party providing the documents, or
the party's attorney, shall identify, in a notice accompanying the
documents, the name and address of the parties to whom the documents
were provided, the date they were provided, the manner in which they
were provided and the identity of the document provided.
i. The statute of limitations is tolled for all potential parties to the
proposed action for the duration of the pre-claim review process required
pursuant to this section.
7. (New section)The Assignment Judge of the vicinage in which the
action alleging medical malpractice has been filed, or the judge's
designee, shall, within 60 days of the discovery end date, determine
whether referral to a complementary dispute resolution mechanism may
encourage early disposition or settlement of the action. If the judge
makes such a determination, the matter shall be referred to
complementary dispute resolution pursuant to Rule 1:40 of the Rules of
Court.
8. (New section) a. A health care provider named as a defendant in a
medical malpractice action may cause the action against that provider to
be dismissed upon the filing of an affidavit of noninvolvement with the
court. The affidavit of noninvolvement shall set forth, with particularity,
the facts that demonstrate that the provider was misidentified or
otherwise not involved, individually or through its servants or
employees, in the care and treatment of the claimant, and was not
obligated, either individually or through its servants or employees, to
provide for the care and treatment of the claimant.
b. A codefendant or claimant shall have the right to challenge an
affidavit of noninvolvement by filing a motion and submitting an
affidavit that contradicts the assertions of noninvolvement made by the
health care provider in the affidavit of noninvolvement.
c. If the court determines that a health care provider named as a
defendant falsely files or makes false or inaccurate statements in an
affidavit of noninvolvement, the court, upon motion or upon its own
initiative, shall immediately reinstate the claim against that provider.
Reinstatement of a party pursuant to this subsection shall not be barred
by any statute of limitations defense that was not valid at the time the
original action was filed.
In any action in which the health care provider is found by the court
to have knowingly filed a false or inaccurate affidavit of
noninvolvement, the court shall impose upon the person who signed the
affidavit or represented the party, or both, an appropriate sanction,
including, but not limited to, an order to pay to the other party or parties
the amount of the reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the filing of
the false or inaccurate affidavit, including a reasonable attorney fee. The
court shall also refer the matter to the Attorney General and the
appropriate professional licensing board for further review.
d. If the court determines that a plaintiff or his counsel falsely
objected to a health care provider's affidavit of noninvolvement, or
knowingly provided an inaccurate statement regarding a health care
provider's affidavit, the court shall impose upon the plaintiff or his
counsel, or both, an appropriate sanction, including, but not limited to, an
order to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the reasonable
