A New Jersey judge restricted the amount of damages Bayonne-based CarePoint Health can receive in a lawsuit over ambulance services, The Jersey Journal reported Aug. 3.
CarePoint Health and McCabe Ambulance Services in August sued Jersey City (N.J.) Medical Center alleging it deliberately steered ambulances to the medical center and not CarePoint hospitals between 2019 and 2022, according to the report. They argued that this violated the terms of a 2016 settlement agreement that developed a "grid protocol" for areas from which patients would be taken to CarePoint and from which they would be transported to Jersey City Medical Center.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Anthony D'Elia ruled July 27 that any damages suffered by CarePoint and McCabe must be limited to 2019, according to the report. The judge also ruled that CarePoint Health Management could not claim damages suffered by any of the three hospitals in the health system. The lawsuit did not claim damages against CarePoint Health Management, except for the losses by the hospitals.
A CarePoint spokesperson told the news outlet that in light of the court's ruling, it is urging the city to promptly issue a new request for proposals for basic life support services and mandate that the successful bidder reinstate the grid protocol.