The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a law that sets the minimum qualifications for expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases. The law requires experts to certify that the malpractice allegations raise legitimate issues before a case can proceed. The experts must also be active practitioners or teachers in the same specialty as the accused physician.
Last year, the Arizona Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the legislature, by defining such qualifications, encroached on the judiciary’s prerogative to set its own procedures. The state Supreme Court overturned that decision 4-1, ruling that the statute does not violate the separation of powers doctrine.
In the majority opinion Justice Andrew Hurwitz writes “Although we maintain power over procedural rules, we do not believe that power precludes the legislature from addressing what it believes to be a serious substantive problem: the effects on public health of increased medical malpractice insurance rates and the reluctance of qualified physicians to practice here.”
If you have been the victim of medical malpractice please contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 610-667-7511.