Palanque v. Lambert-Woolley

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

PORITZ, C.J.

This case is substantially like Hubbard v. Reed, 168 N.J. 387, 774 A.2d 495 (2001), also decided today. We rely therefore on much of what we said in Hubbard in holding that an affidavit of merit is not required in a common knowledge malpractice case.

I

On December 12,1996, plaintiff Michelle Palanque sought medical treatment from defendant Dr. Margaret Lambert-Woolley because plaintiff was experiencing mennorhagia, a heavy menstrual bleeding. Defendant ordered a BhCG test to determine whether plaintiff was pregnant, a possible cause of her…