Supreme Court of New Jersey

Larry A. Stempler

July 29, 1985100 N.J. 368

Summary

The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed the Law Division's order, modified to require the plaintiff to provide unrestricted authorizations for ex parte interviews of the decedent's treating physicians, but imposed notice, scope, and voluntariness conditions and allowed protective orders. The Court balanced the patient‑physician privilege against the need for discovery, concluding that informal interviews are permissible with safeguards.