The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed a published Appellate Division decision and held that incident reports and associated documents cannot be withheld by medical facilities under the self-critical-analysis privilege of the Patient Safety Act unless those facilities maintain an independent patient safety committee.

In consolidated appeals, the state high court evaluated two cases involving the discoverability of disputed internal documents that were created following incidents that took place at medical facilities. The first case, Keyworth v. CareOne at Madison Avenue, was filed Nov. 16, 2018, in Morris County Superior Court by Madeline Keyworth, who alleged that she sustained injuries in two falls at a skilled nursing facility. She filed an eight-count complaint alleging common-law negligence, breach of contract, and violations of several statutes, according to the opinion.