Scafidi v. Seiler

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

STEIN, J.

In this medical malpractice case, the proofs presented as a factual issue whether the defendant’s failure properly to treat and arrest Jamie Scafidi’s early labor proximately caused the premature birth and death of her infant child. The trial court declined plaintiffs' request that it instruct the jury on causation in accordance with the “increased risk” standard authorized by our opinion in Evers v. Dollinger, 95 N.J. 399, 417, 471 A.2d 405 (1984). The court also refused to instruct the jury that it was *97defendant’s burden to prove that…