Money Judgment—Not Settlement—Needed for Contribution Claim in Medical Suit, Panel Holds
"Bowers alone agreed to the settlement amount, we reasonably assume it reflects only her portion of Hoelz's full damages, not those attributable to another joint tortfeasor's liability," the court said.
June 24, 2022 at 12:44 PM
4 minute read
A New Jersey Appellate Division opinion weighed whether a surgeon who reached a settlement with a patient that was never reduced to judgment can then pursue a contribution claim against another doctor—and the court answered "no."
According to the published opinion, Fay Hoelz was a patient of Dr. Andrea Bowers, an orthopedic physician with Burlington County Orthopedic Specialists. Bowers ordered short leg casts to be placed on Hoelz after she was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture and a left "lateral malleolus fracture" while a patient at Virtua Health/Memorial Hospital of Burlington County on March 28, 2014. Hoelz was discharged to Lutheran Crossings Enhanced Living, a rehabilitation facility where she continued to receive treatment from Bowers.
An internist, Dr. Walter Cominsky, also treated Hoelz during her stay at Lutheran Crossings until May 7, 2014, when Hoelz returned to Virtua due to "bilateral gangrenous foot wounds," according to the opinion. The wounds resulted in "significant amputation of the left leg" and "surgery to her right foot for anatomical correction."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
$10 Million Settlement Reached for Baby Injured by Disconnected Ventilator
3 minute read
'Point Us to the Plain Language': NJ Supreme Court Grills Defense Statutory Requirements for Affidavit of Merit
5 minute read
Med Mal Claim for Injury Stemming From Epidural Nets $2.75 Million Settlement
3 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1Tensions Run High at Final Hearing Before Manhattan Congestion Pricing Takes Effect
- 2Improper Removal to Fed. Court Leads to $100K Bill for Blue Cross Blue Shield
- 3Michael Halpern, Beloved Key West Attorney, Dies at 72
- 4Burr & Forman, Smith Gambrell & Russell Promote More to Partner This Year
- 5Sanctions Order Over Toyota's Failure to Provide English Translations of Documents Vacated by Appeals Court
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
