On Aug. 5, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a decision relevant to many medical malpractice cases. Keyworth v. CareOne at Madison Ave., 2024 N.J. LEXIS 791 (Aug. 5, 2024 slip opinion). The court reinstated a trial judge's determination that documents a nursing facility and assisted living facility sought to protect fell outside the scope of the absolute privilege afforded by the Patient Safety Act (PSA). The PSA set up a complex system of analyzing patient safety events and reporting defined serious preventable adverse events that occur to patients. The PSA also created an absolute privilege for information and materials falling within its scope. This article includes analysis of the court's decision, a description of what is clear after this decision, and a brief discussion regarding potential future issues.

Keyworth involved an 80-year-old resident who fell twice on the same day at a skilled nursing facility. The first fall was in the resident's room shortly after midnight and the second was later that morning in front of the nurses' station. The staff entered concise descriptions in the resident's medical records of what occurred regarding each fall. The first fall appeared to involve the resident experiencing some disorientation in her room. The second fall happened when the resident attempted to stand and slid to the floor. The facility created incident reports for each fall. It did not report the falls to the Department of Health (DOH).