The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that doctors don't have to tell patients whether they have malpractice insurance for surgeries they're recommending.
The Record reports the unanimous ruling made Tuesday stemmed from a lawsuit against Richard Kaul. Officials say the anesthesiologist performed back surgeries for years in same-day operating centers even though he lacked training to operate on spines.
James Jarrell and his wife won a $750,000 judgment against Kaul after he experienced sharp pain following surgery. But they sought more compensation on appeal, arguing that Kaul should pay because he lacked malpractice insurance and failed to tell them.
The court disagreed.
Kaul lost his medical license years ago after a state investigation into complaints for patients who had severe pain after surgery.
