On July 14, 2022, the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s denial of summary judgment to defendants in a prenatal medical malpractice case and concluded the minority-tolling statute does not apply to extend the statute of limitations to deceased minors. Monk v. Kennedy Univ. Hosp. Inc., 473 N.J. Super. 178
(App. Div. 2022). However, the appellate court remanded the matter to the trial court to consider plaintiffs’ alternative argument that they had demonstrated substantial compliance with the statute of limitations for their claims.
Background Facts
Decedent, J.W., passed away on July 10, 2016, at the age of six months. More than four years later, on October 26, 2020, plaintiffs sued defendants, alleging that negligence in the mother’s prenatal care and J.W.’s care caused J.W.’s death. The New Jersey prenatal medical malpractice complaint alleged medical malpractice, negligence, corporate negligence, and a claim pursuant to the Wrongful Death Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 to -64. Although the complaint alleged negligence and medical malpractice regarding both the mother’s prenatal care and J.W.’s delivery and care at Kennedy University Hospital, on appeal plaintiffs conceded “[t]he instant matter is being brought on behalf of [m]inor plaintiff only.”
Substantial Compliance
To toll a statute of limitations, courts examine five prongs: (1) lack of prejudice to the defending party; (2) a series of steps taken to comply with the statute involved; (3) a general compliance with the purpose of the statute; (4) a reasonable notice of plaintiff’s claim; and (5) a reasonable explanation why there was not strict compliance with the statute.
The Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division stated in its unpublished Per Curiam opinion dated May 3, 2024: “Here, plaintiffs argue the two-year statute of limitations should be tolled by application of the substantial compliance doctrine. However, the record contains few facts or assertions of fact addressing the five prongs. Instead, plaintiffs reiterate their mistaken belief that minority tolling applied, and they had until 2029 to file a wrongful death action. Indeed, the record demonstrates plaintiffs did not even seek estate administration papers for J.W. until after the
two-year statute of limitations had lapsed. For the reasons stated in our published opinion, plaintiffs’ reliance on minority tolling for a minor decedent was in error and cannot establish a basis for substantial compliance with the statute. We generally do not countenance ignorance of the law as a reason to relax statutory or procedural deadlines.”
Source Monk v. Kennedy University Hospital, Inc., Docket No. A-0737-22.
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of prenatal medical negligence in New Jersey or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your prenatal medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a prenatal medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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