Velaquez v. Jimine

172 N.J. 240, 798 A.2d 51 (2002)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was a patient at the Medical Center for the purpose of delivering a baby. Complications occurred during the delivery because P's baby was suffering from bilateral shoulder dystocia (both of his shoulders were lodged against his mother's pubic bone). After delivering the baby's head, Dr. Jiminez was unable to deliver the rest of the baby's body. She rang for assistance and D responded. D had no prior relationship with, or connection to P. D was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), assigned to the Maternal Fetal Care Unit (MFCU) at the Medical Center. She specializes in maternal-fetal medicine and was responsible both for attending to high-risk patients in the MFCU and for supervising resident physicians who cared for their own UMDNJ clinical patients at the Medical Center. After an emergency Caesarean section, the baby, Conor, ultimately was born severely brain damaged, spent his life in a dependent state and died of pneumonia before reaching his third birthday. P sued Ds. Ps' experts testified that D deviated from the standard of care. Dr. Ranzini's experts testified that her conduct conformed to all applicable medical standards and that Conor's condition resulted from the negligence of Dr. Jiminez. The jury assigned three percent of the liability to D. The trial court, sua sponte, entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict (j.n.o.v.) in favor of D. D's liability could not be regarded as a substantial factor in the harm that resulted to Conor. The court reiterated that the Good Samaritan Act did not operate to insulate D from suit. P appealed. D cross-appealed from the trial court's ruling that the Good Samaritan Act did not immunize her from suit. The Appellate Division reversed the j.n.o.v. and rejected D's cross-appeal on the ground that, as a matter of law, the Good Samaritan Act does not apply to physicians working within a hospital. P appealed.