Where a product increases the risk of future disease, even to an unquantifiable degree, the present costs of medical surveillance required by anticipation of that disease are recoverable in a lawsuit.
In actions under the New Jersey Products Liability Act seeking to recover medical surveillance costs, the plaintiff must have suffered a "harm" as defined under the Act. Interestingly, however, damages awarded in these cases are not exactly compensation for personal injury. Notwithstanding, they are closer conceptually to damages for personal injury than compensation for non-physical economic loss. There can be no prospective recovery for the anticipated disease itself unless the plaintiff can prove to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that it is more probable than not.
Examples of cases involving claims for risk of future disease or disability are those involving exposure to toxic substances, including asbestos and defective pharmaceutical products, in addition to negligent exposure to HIV infected blood by medical providers.
If you have been exposed to any toxic substance or defective product which you believe requires current or future medical monitoring, you should contact an experienced New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer who can assess the facts of your case and explain your rights.
