May 19, 2008

Interesting profile in the Courier-Post of the new head of the incoming head of the American Trial Lawyers Association-New Jersey, Tommie Ann Gibney. She's a member of the Haddonfield, N.J., firm of Andres & Berger. She specializes in suing nursing homes, and wants to expand potential compensation in wrongful death suits.

The most specific goal for the organization this year is to amend the state's wrongful death statute. Currently, survivors in a wrongful death action can seek damages only for lost income. There is no monetary value put on what Gibney calls "the reality of what a family is in the 21st century.

Many families today include older members, like grandparents, who provide care services for children. Others have stay-at-home parents, yet survivors in a wrongful death lawsuit cannot seek a judgment to compensate for the loss, through negligence or violence, of those care-givers.