SB 340 — An Act amending the act of March 20, 2002 (P.L.154, No.13), known as the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (Mcare) Act, in medical professional liability, further providing for definitions and for expert qualifications.

Summary

Certificate of Merit in Medical Liability Actions

Bill Text

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The bill adds definitions and qualifications for expert witnesses in medical professional liability cases, altering the requirements for certificates of merit.

• Section 503

  "Certificate of merit." A written declaration or certification in a medical professional liability action which includes an allegation that a health care provider deviated from an acceptable professional standard and which specifies that: (1) an appropriate licensed professional has supplied a written statement to support the declaration or certification, which clearly states that there exists a reasonable probability that the care, skill or knowledge exercised or exhibited in the treatment, practice or work that is the subject of the complaint fell outside acceptable professional standards and that the conduct was a cause in bringing about the harm; (2) the claim that the defendant deviated from an acceptable professional standard is based solely on allegations that other licensed professionals for whom this defendant is responsible deviated from an acceptable professional standard; or (3) expert testimony of an appropriate licensed professional is unnecessary for prosecution of the claim.

  This addition defines what a certificate of merit is and outlines conditions under which it may be satisfied.

• Section 512

  [any state or the District of Columbia] → this Commonwealth.

  This change restricts qualified medical experts to those licensed in Pennsylvania rather than including experts from any state or the District of Columbia.

• Section 512

  [or retired within the previous five years from]

  This change removes the option for retirees within five years to provide expert testimony, tightening the qualifications for active practitioners.

• Section 512

  the standard of care or issuing a statement in support of a certificate of merit → the standard of care

  This clarifies that waiver of requirements for expert testimony is only allowed for matters other than the standard of care.

• Section 512

  A court may waive the same subspecialty requirement for an expert testifying on the standard of care for the diagnosis or treatment of a condition if the court determines that: (1) the expert is trained in the diagnosis or treatment of the condition, as applicable; and (2) the defendant physician provided care for that condition and such care was not within the physician's specialty or competence.

  This addition allows courts to waive subspecialty requirements for experts testifying on conditions outside the defendant physician's specialty.

• Section 512

  (1) A court may waive the same specialty and board certification requirements for an expert testifying as to a standard of care if the court determines that the expert possesses sufficient training, experience and knowledge to provide the testimony as a result of active involvement in or full-time teaching of medicine in the applicable subspecialty or a related field of medicine within the previous five-year time period.

  This specifies conditions under which a court may waive board certification requirements for expert witnesses.

• Section 512

  for a person issuing a statement in support of a certificate of merit in a medical professional liability action.

  This clarifies that the court cannot waive requirements for those issuing a statement in support of a certificate of merit.

• Section 512

  A certificate of merit and accompanying statement shall include the contact information and curriculum vitae of the medical professional issuing the statement in accordance with the requirements of this section.

  This adds a requirement for the inclusion of contact information and CV for experts providing statements.

Action History

1. February 26, 2025

   Referred to JUDICIARY, Feb. 26, 2025

Sponsors

• David G. Argall · Primary
• Lisa Baker · Cosponsor
• Tracy Pennycuick · Cosponsor

Subjects