Doctors hope to forceaction by legislators
By:Sally Goldenberg
Local residents hoping to see Deborah L. Neiman, a doctor of internal medicine located on Omni Drive, were greeted with a sign explaining her office closed Monday and Tuesday.
"The environment for the practice of medicine in the state of New Jersey has become more and more hostile and the viability of our profession is threatened," read the sign posted in the window.
Dr. Neiman and her two colleagues joined thousands of doctors across the state in a work slowdown to emphasize the need for tort reform.
The three-day slowdown culminated in a protest on the Statehouse steps in Trenton Tuesday when more than 5,000 doctors rallied for a $250,000 cap on jury awards to patients for pain and suffering, according to published reports.
Local doctors chose their own approaches to the work slowdown some closed altogether, some closed to all but emergency visits and some remained open.
Joseph Smith, a general practitioner at Your Doctors Care on Route 206, closed his office for visits other than triage on Monday and Tuesday and reopened for only sick patients for the remainder of the week.
"We have seen our rates skyrocket due to what is going on around the state," Dr. Smith said.
The doctor of 18 years has personally felt the hit of malpractice lawsuits in New Jersey after being involved in two malpractice lawsuits, both of which he won but cost him nearly $100,000.
Nonetheless, his malpractice premiums have risen by 300 percent in the past four years from $8,000 to $32,000, he said.
Dr. Smith said insurance companies and trial lawyers must differentiate between malpractice and "maloccurrence:" the former referring to an error on the part of the doctor; the latter referring to an unfortunate but unavoidable incident in medicine.
To exemplify "maloccurrence," he pointed to a $5 million lawsuit he was involved in with the family of a boy who developed a "very rare form of cancer behind his eye." An optometrist testified that Dr. Smith did not make any diagnostic errors and he won the suit, but he was hit with legal fees.
Dr. Smith’s staff of five doctors and three physician assistants, who serve about 800 patients a week, have received "overwhelming" support from their patients, he said. Nearly every patient who filled out a survey the Medical Society of New Jersey asked doctors to distribute in the last few weeks advocated for the doctor’s cause.
To emphasize the need for tort reform, Dr. Smith joined in the Trenton rally, carrying a sign that read: "Malpractice First, HMOs Next."
Managed care has been more of a headache for Laura Rivera, a doctor in the Amwell Health Center on Amwell Road.
As a result of the financial burdens of managed care, Dr. Rivera said, she simply could not afford to close for the work slowdown, though she wanted to participate in the effort.
"We are 100 percent supportive of the job action," an employee said on Dr. Rivera’s behalf.
Lawmakers have said a bipartisan bill to cap pain and suffering lawsuits at $300,000 and manage soaring malpractice premiums could be introduced by next week.

