What is an affidavit of merit?

It’s not in the public interest for a New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer to file frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. To prevent that, New Jersey requires a NJ medical malpractice attorney to get a doctor or medical expert to attest to the validity of the claim within 60 days of the filing.

A New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer must obtain an affidavit of merit from a similar physician spelling out the deviation from the accepted standard of care that constitutes the medical malpractice. An affidavit of merit serves as a check on frivolous lawsuits.

The importance of obtaining this affidavit should not be underestimated. Although it may sound simple, an affidavit of merit may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Quite often, fellow physicians and surgeons are not willing to participate in a case where someone decides to sue a doctor. Often, a New Jersey lawyer will find it necessary to look for his expert witnesses in other states such as New York or Pennsylvania. These medical malpractice expert witnesses can be very expensive, and they will get paid even if they find no deviation from medical standards.

The law firm of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., of New Jersey, is highly regarded throughout New Jersey for the quality of the counsel and legal representation that our medical malpractice attorneys provide. The focus of our practice is representing people who were injured in accidents caused by the negligence of doctors and hospitals. We are justifiably proud of our record of success in representing more than 20,000 accident victims in cases including medical malpractice, defective drugs, automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other kinds of personal injury accidents. We have obtained millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients, including medical malpractice victims.

Call our healthcare negligence lawyers today at (800) LAW-2000 or use our online form to receive a free initial consultation. Translators for all languages are available.

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