Medical Negligence Civil Charges

5.50B – Common Knowledge May Furnish Standard of Care

5.50B COMMON KNOWLEDGE MAY FURNISH STANDARD OF CARE

Negligence is the failure to comply with the standard of care to protect a person from harm. Negligence in a doctor’s medical practice, which is called malpractice, is the doctor’s failure to comply with the standard of care in the care and treatment of his/her patient. Usually it is necessary to establish the standard of care by expert testimony, that is, by testimony of persons who are qualified by their training, study and experience to give their opinions on subjects not generally understood by persons who lack such special training or experience. In the usual case the standard of care by which to judge the defendant’s conduct cannot be determined by the jury without the assistance of expert medical testimony.

However, in some cases, such as the case at hand, the jury may determine from its common knowledge and experience the standard of care by which to judge the defendant’s conduct. In this case plaintiff contends that the defendant violated the duty of care he/she owed to the plaintiff by doing ____________________________ [or by failing to do the following ____________________]. In this case, therefore, it is for you, as jurors, to determine, based upon common knowledge and experience, what skill and care the average physician practicing in the defendant’s field would have exercised in the same or similar circumstances. It is for you as jurors to say from your common knowledge and experience whether the defendant deviated from the standard of care in the circumstances of this case.

After determining the standard of care required in the circumstances of this case, you should then consider the evidence to determine whether the defendant has complied with or departed from that standard of care. If you find that defendant has complied with that standard of care he/she is not liable to the plaintiff, regardless of the result. If you find that defendant has not complied with that standard of care, resulting in injury or damage to the plaintiff, then you should find defendant negligent and return a verdict for plaintiff.



« Previous      Next »

Awards

Recognition held by some of our attorneys:

*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Before making your choice of attorney, you should give this matter careful thought. The selection of an attorney is an important decision. For the comparison standards employed by the various lawyer rating companies, please visit superlawyers.com, bestlawyers.com, milliondollaradvocates.com, law.com, avvo.com, and thenationaltriallawyers.org. Award is conferred on at least 100 lawyers per state, not 100 lawyers in America. Prior Results do not guarantee a similar outcome, nor does visiting this website create an attorney client relationship.*

Tell Us About Your Case

Don’t hesitate. Don’t wonder. Don’t field questions from aggressive insurance companies. Contact Gill & Chamas, LLC today.

Contact Us

We serve clients throughout New Jersey

Townships
  • Woodbridge
  • New Brunswick
  • East Brunswick
  • Edison
  • North Brunswick
  • South Brunswick
  • Piscataway
  • Linden, Clark
  • Rahway
  • Middletown
  • Old Bridge
  • Sayreville
  • Perth Amboy
  • Elizabeth
  • Newark
  • Union
  • Middlesex County
  • Union County
  • Somerset County
  • Monmouth County
  • Mercer County
  • Hudson County
  • Bergen County
  • Ocean County
Counties
  • Atlantic County
  • Bergen County
  • Burlington County
  • Essex County
  • Mercer County
  • Middlesex County
  • Monmouth County
  • Ocean County
  • Passaic County
  • Somerset County
  • Sussex County
  • Union County
  • Warren County

Contact Us

655 N Florida Grove Road
Woodbridge, NJ 07095

3509 U.S. 9
Howell Township, NJ 07731

Phone: 732-324-7600
Fax: 732-324-7606