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N.J. assemblyman bashed by Del. judge for unqualified expert testimony

Posted on Jan 23, 2007

N.J. assemblyman bashed by Del. judge for unqualified expert testimony By TOM HESTER Jr., Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Assemblyman Eric Munoz testified against two doctors in a medical malpractice case in Delaware even though he lacked proper credentials, a judge ruled in a decision that questioned Munoz’s credibility. But Munoz, a Republican from Summit and trauma surgeon at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, contends the judge wrongly attacked his qualifications. Munoz filed an affidavit and testified in the 2004 medical malpractice case as an expert witness in emergency medicine, according to a March 2006 ruling by Delaware Superior Court Judge Peggy Ableman. But she found that his testimony didn’t pass legal muster because Munoz was only certified in general surgery. Citing that, the judge dismissed the claims of Elizabeth Sammons, who used Munoz to try to prove her mother died of undiagnosed sepsis. But Munoz, an assemblyman since 2001, defended his conduct, emphasizing Ableman’s decision was partially overturned by the Delaware Supreme Court, which noted a hearing was never held to determine if Munoz was qualified to testify. “Judge Ableman’s claims regarding my qualifications are outrageous and the Delaware Supreme Court agrees,” Munoz said. “Her attack is meant to cover up the fact that she failed to do her job.” He said his attorneys are reviewing the judge’s allegations and insisted he never claimed to be certified in emergency medicine. Ableman wrote Munoz’s testimony in the case “was so lacking in reliability or credibility that he gave new meaning to the term hired gun.” “Dr. Munoz’s performance in this trial diminished his own profession, as well as those of the legal profession who have sought fit to claim him as an expert,” she wrote. The ruling detailed how Munoz has testified against many doctors in fields besides trauma surgery, including gynecology, orthopedics, dermatology, neurology and hand surgery in states such as Missouri, Kansas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Florida. Ableman ruled the doctors involved in the case deserved better than to be judged by someone as “disreputable and unqualified as Dr. Munoz.” Munoz has sponsored a bill that would require experts in New Jersey medical malpractice cases be board certified in the same specialty, a proposal that caught Ableman’s attention. “At the trial, Dr. Munoz agreed that this legislation, which he sponsored, would be in the best interests of his constituents in New Jersey,” the judge wrote. “Apparently he has no difficulty providing testimony against doctors outside his specialty when he travels to Delaware or the many other states where he so frequently testifies.”