Rosemary Loper v. Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center

Des Moines, Iowa, personal injury lawyer represented the Plaintiff on a medical malpractice claim.

147.140 Expert witness — certificate of merit affidavit.
1. a. In any action for personal injury or wrongful death against a health care provider
basedupontheallegednegligenceinthepracticeofthatprofessionoroccupationorinpatient
care, which includes a cause of action for which expert testimony is necessary to establish a
prima facie case, the plaintiff shall, prior to the commencement of discovery in the case and
within sixty days of the defendant’s answer, serve upon the defendant a certificate of merit
affidavit signed by an expert witness with respect to the issue of standard of care and an
alleged breach of the standard of care. The expert witness must meet the qualifying standards
of section 147.139.
b. A certificate of merit affidavit must be signed by the expert witness and certify the
purpose for calling the expert witness by providing under the oath of the expert witness all
of the following:
(1) The expert witness’s statement of familiarity with the applicable standard of care.
(2) The expert witness’s statement that the standard of care was breached by the health
care provider named in the petition.
c. A plaintiff shall serve a separate certificate of merit affidavit on each defendant named
in the petition.
2. An expert witness’s certificate of merit affidavit does not preclude additional discovery
and supplementation of the expert witness’s opinions in accordance with the rules of civil
procedure.
3. The parties shall comply with the requirements of section 668.11 and all other
applicable law governing certification and disclosure of expert witnesses.
4. The parties by agreement or the court for good cause shown and in response to a
motion filed prior to the expiration of the time limits specified in subsection 1 may provide
for extensions of the time limits. Good cause shall include but not be limited to the inability
to timely obtain the plaintiff’s medical records from health care providers when requested
prior to filing the petition.
5. If the plaintiff is acting pro se, the plaintiff shall have the expert witness sign the
certificate of merit affidavit or answers to interrogatories referred to in this section and the
plaintiff shall be bound by those provisions as if represented by an attorney.
6. Failure to substantially comply with subsection 1 shall result, upon motion, in dismissal
with prejudice of each cause of action as to which expert witness testimony is necessary to
establish a prima facie case.
7. For purposes of this section, “healthcareprovider” means the same as defined in section
147.136A.
2017 Acts, ch 107, §4,

Motion for summary judgment in favor of the Defendant affirmed on appeal.