Medical mistake bill moves forward in Legislature

A bill requiring New Jersey hospitals to publicize medical mistakes has jumped its first hurdle on the road to becoming a law. The Senate Health Committee unanimously passed the legislation Monday. The

News 12 Staff

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Jan 27, 2009, 12:20 AM

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Updated 5,892 days ago

A bill requiring New Jersey hospitals to publicize medical mistakes has jumped its first hurdle on the road to becoming a law.

The Senate Health Committee unanimously passed the legislation Monday. The bill still needs to be voted on in the full Senate and Assembly.

"If surgery is performed on you, - on the wrong body part - I believe people in New Jersey should have the right to know where that happened," says Republican Sen. Bill Baroni.

Health care advocates have been pushing for years to get similar legislation passed. Supporters of the bill are optimistic it will finally pass this year.

"The goal is to reduce errors and this bill will drive that change," says Patricia Kelmar, of the AARP.

The State Hospital Association says it supports the idea, but the bill is too strongly written and could make simple medical mistakes look like negligence.