ASSEMBLY, No. 1494
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 1996
By Assemblywoman WRIGHT, Assemblyman BAGGER, Assemblywomen Allen, Bark, Crecco, Assemblymen Wolfe, Rocco, Azzolina, Gregg, Assemblywoman Vandervalk, Assemblymen LeFevre, Gibson, Blee, T. Smith, Augustine, Bateman, Lance, Kavanaugh, Assemblywomen Turner, Weinberg, Assemblymen Malone, Arnone, Assemblywoman J. Smith, Assemblymen Bucco, Garrett, Assemblywoman Farragher, Assemblymen Bodine, Cohen, DeSopo, Kelly, Assemblywoman Murphy, Assemblymen Impreveduto, Caraballo, Doria, Asselta, Rooney, Holzapfel, Assemblywoman Heck, Assemblyman Stanley, Assemblywoman Friscia, Assemblymen Wisniewski, Dalton, Suliga, Assemblywoman Cruz-Perez, Assemblymen Romano, Felice, Gusciora and Jones
An Act concerning the statute of limitations in certain civil actions and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, any cause of action against a proprietary manufacturer of blood products for damages including personal injury, survivorship and wrongful death involving the infusion of such blood products which resulted in the contraction of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or AIDS by any person, the spouse or children of such person or the estate of such person, which is barred by the applicable statute of limitations on the effective date of this act, is revived and a civil action may be filed provided that such action is filed within one year of the effective date of this act.
2. The provisions of this act shall be inapplicable to any civil action governed by the statute of limitations of another jurisdiction.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire one year following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would revive certain causes of action against proprietary manufacturers of blood products. The bill would apply to civil actions for damages, arising out of contracting HIV or AIDS from infusing the blood products, which would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations. The bill would grant a one-year "window" during which these actions may be filed. The bill expires one year following its enactment.
Individuals who use commercial blood products, especially individuals with hemophilia and other blood disorders, have been devastated by illnesses caused by HIV infection including AIDS. Their spouses and children have been devastated as well. These blood products, which are sometimes known as "Factor VIII" and "Factor IX," are manufactured by proprietary blood companies. The illnesses
caused by infusion of these blood products have been responsible for great personal and economic hardship for the victims and their families and have wrought terrible illness and death.
The Legislature recognizes that the epidemic of HIV and AIDS infection among these individuals and their families was unique in the annals of public health. The victims, through no fault of their own, did not pursue legal remedies for compensation against the manufacturers: the role of blood products as a cause of HIV infection was poorly understood at the time, and the great consequences of HIV infection were not immediately appreciated by the medical and scientific communities and by victims. The Legislature specifically recognizes that the social stigma associated with the disease prevented victims and their families from stepping forward to institute timely legal actions.
Victims were also not aware of the possibility that blood product manufacturers could have used alternative processes at the time which would have rendered the products safe, but that they failed to do so.
This possibility is documented in a report issued on July 13, 1995, entitled "HIV and the Blood Supply: An Analysis of Crisis Decision Making," by the Institute of Medicine, a distinguished panel of scientific and medical professionals which was chartered by the National Academy of Sciences.
The purpose of this bill is to provide an opportunity for victims to litigate their claims without regard to outmoded concepts of the statute of limitations. Providing a one-year "window" during which actions may be filed permits victims to pursue their causes of action without the necessity of litigating the statute of limitations in each individual case.
Revives certain civil actions barred by the statute of limitations.