John Dughi is Named the 2020 Recipient of the “Senator William O. Barnes NJSBA Award for Excellence in Medical Malpractice Litigation” by the New Jersey State Bar Association Medical Malpractice Special Committee
Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski is proud to announce that the New Jersey State Bar Association Medical Malpractice Special Committee has named John Dughi the 2020 recipient of the “Senator William O. Barnes NJSBA Award for Excellence in Medical Malpractice Litigation.”
The Senator William O. Barnes NJSBA Award for Excellence in Medical Malpractice Litigation recognizes those lawyers who have demonstrated “exemplary civility, integrity and professionalism” in their practice and career and who have made “a significant contribution to the practice of law in the field of medical malpractice.” No lawyer fits that description more than John – a quintessential professional who has been a true leader and the “Dean of the Malpractice Bar” for many years.
John’s storied career began after he graduated from the Cornell University school of law in 1972. In 1979, he and Russ Hewit formed Dughi & Hewit. For almost fifty years, John has defended physicians and other health care providers, taught trial attorneys at countless ICLE courses and mentored young attorneys in our firm and across the state.
John tried his first malpractice case in late 1973 and his most recent trial was completed in 2019, both were defense verdicts. Over the course of his career, John conducted 255 trials with very few defeats and many notable and reported decisions in the medical legal field. He has tried malpractice cases in 20 of the 21 counties in New Jersey. He has counseled most of the major malpractice insurance carriers on their exposure issues while defending thousands of their insureds. He tried and most often won against the top plaintiff’s attorneys in New Jersey and from NYC and Philadelphia.
He has tried to a conclusion notable malpractice cases many of which are reported decisions establishing important concepts in the medical legal field. He handled the re-trials of Canesi v. Wilson regarding the evidential weight of PDR warnings, and Cho v. Park fundamentally changing the procedures for in limine and other pre-trial motions. He tried Komlodi v. JFK (twice) changing the standard of proof for intervening causation and Scafidi preexisting harm charge language, Austin v. Deitch establishing the remedy for a violation of the affidavit of merit statute, Hutchinson v. Feldman changing the law to permit physician defendants to be questioned on standard of care issues, and Hudgins v. Serrano which clarified the standards for remittitur and qualification of experts. It is most notable that in each of these trials the outcome was a victory for John’s client notwithstanding the appellate court’s impact upon the defense or prosecution of malpractice matters.
John practiced in an era when most cases were tried and not settled, against legendary names in the malpractice bar, including this Award’s namesake, William O. Barnes.
