Wilkins v. Hudson County Jail

In Wilkins v. Hudson County Jail, 217 N.J. Super. 39, 524 A.2d 1274 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 109 N.J. 520, 537 A.2d 1304 (1987), the plaintiff's attorney had failed to comply with orders restricting the use of expert witnesses. Id. at 42, 524 A.2d 1274. As such, plaintiff's expert testimony was limited to one. Id. at 43, 524 A.2d 1274. We held that the plaintiff should not have been restrained from presenting expert witnesses because she was "entirely blameless." Id. at 46, 524 A.2d 1274. Moreover, the two expert witnesses were named in answers to interrogatories as fact witnesses. Ibid. The Court concluded that though the attorney had committed malpractice, the plaintiff should not have been punished for it. Ibid. Moreover, we noted that "it cannot fairly be said that defendants were entirely surprised by the existence of the expert opinions counsel attempted to elicit at trial." Ibid.