ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

ASSEMBLY No. 1494

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: MAY 1, 1996

 

 

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably an Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 1494.

      This substitute would clarify the statute of limitations for certain persons bringing suit against proprietary manufacturers of blood products.

      The substitute provides that in any case where the infusion of a contaminated blood product resulted in the contraction of HIV or AIDS, the action would not be deemed to accrue prior to July 13, 1995. Under the provisions of N.J.S.A.2A:14-2 of current law, which defines the statute of limitations in civil actions, a potential plaintiff must file suit within two years of the accrual of the cause of action in his case. Pursuant to N.J.S.A.2A:31-3, a suit alleging wrongful death must be brought within two years of the date of death.

      July 13, 1995 is the date on which a definitive report by the national Institute of Medicine, "HIV and the Blood Supply: An Analysis of Crisis Decisionmaking," was issued. The report, which was prepared at the request of Congress, documents the inadequate responses of blood product manufacturers and others in the early 1980's to the growing realization that AIDS was transmitted through blood, and that this transmission posed a particular danger to hemophiliacs and others who infused blood products regularly.

      The substitute would apply to all pending actions, including those which have been filed with the courts but not yet dismissed or finally adjudicated.

      This substitute is identical to the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 433.