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Broehm v. Rochester1/20/2005
ayo's motion to dismiss. The court found that Broehm had failed to demonstrate good cause for an extension and had failed to comply with the requirements of Minn. Stat. § 145.682.
On appeal, the court of appeals affirmed by panel majority. The court of appeals initially considered and rejected Broehm's claim that no expert testimony was required. The court then affirmed the procedural dismissal, concluding that Wick was not qualified to provide expert opinion as to the applicable standards of care as required by Minn. Stat. § 145.682. The court affirmed the denial of an extension, concluding that Broehm had adequate time to comply with the expert-disclosure deadline and failed to show good cause for the requested extension. The dissenting panel member believed that while expert testimony would likely be necessary at trial, it was not required at the preliminary stage to show a prima facie case of medical malpractice.
I.
In a medical malpractice action, Minn. Stat. § 145.682 requires that with service of the summons and complaint, plaintiff's attorney must also serve an affidavit stating that the case has been reviewed with an expert "whose qualifications provide a reasonable expectation that the expert's opinions could be admissible at trial and that, in the opinion of this expert, one or more defendants deviated from the applicable standard of care and by that action caused injury to the plaintiff." Id., subds. 2, 3. Within 180 days of commencement of suit, plaintiff must serve upon defendant affidavits signed by each expert that plaintiff expects to call at trial stating, with respect to issues of malpractice or causation, the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert expects to testify and a summary of the grounds for each opinion. Id., subd. 4(a). Interrogatory answers may be used in lieu of affidavits so long as they are signed by the expert and plaintiff's attorney. Id. Noncompliance with the statutory requirements results in dismissal with prejudice. Minn. Stat. § 145.682, subd. 6 (2004).
Here, in dismissing Broehm's complaint for failure to comply with expert disclosure, the district court determined that a nurse practitionerwas not qualified to provide expert opinion as to the standard of care of a thoracic surgeon. We will reverse a district court's dismissal of a malpractice claim for noncompliance with expert disclosure only if the district court abused its discretion. Teffeteller v. Univ. of Minn., 645 N.W.2d 420, 427 (Minn. 2002).
In an effort to reduce the costs associated with malpractice litigation as a means to increase the availability of reasonably priced medical insurance, nearly every state has enacted some measure of medical malpractice litigation reform. Mitchell J. Nathanson, It's the Economy (and Combined Ratio) Stupid: Examining the Medical Malpractice Litigation Myth and the Factors Critical to Reform, 108 Penn. St. L. Rev. 1077, 1077 n.1 (2004). The Minnesota legislature enacted expert-review and expert-disclosure requirements as a means of readily identifying meritless lawsuits at an early stage of the litigation. Sorenson v. St. Paul Ramsey Med. Ctr., 457 N.W.2d 188, 190-91 (Minn. 1990) (noting that "the legislature contemplated procedural reform directed at elimination of 'frivolous cases'" in adopting the statute). " notice of claim and certificate of merit provisions are not as intrusive as more elaborate malpractice [screening] panels seen in other states * * *." Thomas J. Hurney, Jr., Medical Professional Liability in West Virginia, 105 W. Va. L. Rev. 369, 385 n.115 (2003). Certificate of merit requirements have proven more effective than other malpractice reform mechanisms, such as arbitration panels and ca
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