Expert Witness Requirement

  • Read more: CAVEAT HOSPITIA: Suits Alleging Negligent Credentialing Against Hospitals Get Exemption from Tort Reform
    Article

    CAVEAT HOSPITIA: Suits Alleging Negligent Credentialing Against Hospitals Get Exemption from Tort Reform

    By Alex Stein Policymakers and scholars interested in medical malpractice and torts generally should read Billeaudeau v. Opelousas General Hospital Authority, — So.3d —-, 2016 WL 6123862 (La. 2016). In this recent and important decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that suits alleging negligent credentialing against a hospital sound in regular negligence, rather than medical malpractice,…

  • Read more: Products Liability or Medical Malpractice? The Definition of a “Healthcare Provider”
    Article

    Products Liability or Medical Malpractice? The Definition of a “Healthcare Provider”

    By Alex Stein Every defendant in a suit for medically inflicted injuries wants to be a “healthcare provider.” This status entitles the defendant to categorize the suit as “medical malpractice” and become eligible to special litigation advantages, which include shortened limitations and repose periods, dismissal of suits not verified by experts, and statutory caps on damages….

  • Read more: The “Common Knowledge” Exception to the Expert Requirement in Medical Malpractice Actions under FTCA Categorized as “Substantive”
    Article

    The “Common Knowledge” Exception to the Expert Requirement in Medical Malpractice Actions under FTCA Categorized as “Substantive”

    By Alex Stein All expert requirements for medical malpractice actions (including merit certificates and affidavits) are categorized as “substantive” rather than “procedural” under both Erie (in diversity suits) and the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). See here and here. The Fifth Circuit recently ruled in connection with a medical malpractice suit filed under FTCA that the…

  • Read more: Of Competence and Referrals: When a Doctor’s Failure to Refer a Patient to another Physician Constitutes Malpractice?
    Article

    Of Competence and Referrals: When a Doctor’s Failure to Refer a Patient to another Physician Constitutes Malpractice?

    By Alex Stein Four days ago, the Supreme Court of South Dakota delivered an important decision on when a physician’s failure to refer a patient to another doctor constitutes malpractice. St. John v. Peterson, — N.W.2d —- (S.D. 2015), 2015 WL 3505401. This decision hides in the Court’s rulings on the admissibility of evidence, and so…

  • Read more: Medical Malpractice or General Negligence? A Redux
    Article

    Medical Malpractice or General Negligence? A Redux

    By Alex Stein Whether a tort action sounds in “medical malpractice,” as opposed to “general negligence,” or vice versa, is often critical. Medical malpractice actions must satisfy special requirements that include shortened limitations periods, statutes of repose, expert affidavits, and merit certificates. Suits sounding in ordinary negligence need not satisfy those requirements. Filing and prosecuting those…

  • Read more: MISTAKE ≠ MALPRACTICE
    Article

    MISTAKE ≠ MALPRACTICE

    By Alex Stein Every lawyer with some experience in medical malpractice knows that a doctor’s mistake in diagnosing or treating a patient does not necessarily amount to negligence. Doctors sometimes make mistakes that are unavoidable or just reasonable, given the constraints under which they treat patients. For that reason, a patient would be ill-advised to sue…