There are laws that hospitals have to abide by about reporting cases of medical malpractice in New Jersey. These laws make it mandatory for doctors to report if there are any mistakes, almost deaths as a result of carelessness, unanticipated complications, or deaths that could have been prevented. With the economy in the state that it is in right now there have been instances of medical malpractice in New Jersey where none of these mandatory situations have been reported. This can be directed correlated with the rising costs of premiums for doctors in New Jersey. With the high costs of premiums for doctors cases of medical malpractice are becoming more expensive than ever.

With medical malpractice suits increasing, the budget gap that the state of New Jersey is contributing to is also increasing. New Jersey contributes to more than 7% of the nations total budget gap with $2.6 billion. When doctor's failing to report these "near misses" they are not only putting their patients in danger, they are also allowing an opportunity for it to happen again. Some of thing things that doctors are failing to report are wrong-site surgery, leaving instruments in patients after surgery, or patients being paralyzed. The way that many people learn is through mistakes, and if these mistakes aren't being reported, they are not being dealt with which makes doctor's offices and hospitals very unsafe.

One new thing that may help doctors in New Jersey deal with these types of situations is by allowing a "that should never happen" list. The state of Minnesota has been one of the first states to try it out successfully. This is a new plan that has been implemented in all hospitals and places where medical procedures are performed in Minnesota where a list of events that "should never happen" is given to every doctor. On the list there are a series of events that if they were to happen they are required to report. After reporting any of the errors, the hospital will do an in depth study about what happened, and how it can be prevented so it never happens again. After that the report is published and made available to the public so they can understand what happened, and more importantly it is given to the doctors to read.

Many patients who have been victims of medical malpractice in New Jersey don't even know they can file a lawsuit as a result of it. By following a "that should never happen" list patients will have a better way of knowing how their local New Jersey hospital is performing and can make medical decisions based off their reports. If this list were installed into doctor's offices and hospitals across the country there would be a lot less mistakes made in the medical field in New Jersey and all across the country. If you or someone you know has recently undergone a medical procedure in New Jersey that has resulted in further injury to the pateint, the practicing doctor may be at fault. It is important to report all cases of medical malpractice or to file a claim so that unlawful doctors may be prosecuted.