Perna v. Pirozzi

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

POLLOCK, J.

This appeal challenges the validity of R. 4:21, which requires the pre-trial submission of medical malpractice claims to a panel consisting of a judge, an attorney and a physician. More specifically, the appeal questions whether a plaintiff may cross-examine a defendant-doctor about alleged prior inconsistent statements at a panel hearing and whether the trial court may refuse to permit a plaintiff to show possible bias of the panel-doctor in favor of the defendant-doctor. With respect to the latter issue, plaintiffs did not object to the…