N.J. Appellate Court Rules Woman Can Pursue Loss of Services Claim Based on Son's Injuries

TRENTON - A New Jersey appellate court recently overturned a trial court's ruling dismissing a woman's loss-of-services claim after finding that her cause of action could stand alone and depends only on proving whether the defendant manufactured a defective vaccine that proximately caused her son's injuries. Janet McDonald v. Lederle Labs, et al., No. A-2327-02T1 (Super. Ct. N.J., App. Div.).

The appellate court's Feb. 18 unpublished opinion also affirmed dismissal of plaintiff Janet McDonald's loss-of-companionship and past-and-future medical expenses claims since they derived from her son's claims and were therefore precluded by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act (NVICA).

'Janet's …