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Broehm v. Rochester1/20/2005
pping of damages, in "reducing insurers' litigation costs without significant social costs." Nathanson, supra at 1079.
So as not to undermine the legislative aim of expert review and disclosure, we have stressed that plaintiffs must adhere to strict compliance with the requirements of Minn. Stat. § 145.862. See Lindberg v. Health Partners, Inc., 599 N.W.2d 572, 577-78 (Minn. 1999) (statutory requirements are "uncomplicated and unambiguous" and contemplate strict compliance). Plaintiffs are "expected to set forth, by affidavit or answers to interrogatories, specific details concerning their experts' expected testimony, including the applicable standard of care, the acts or omissions that plaintiffs allege violated the standard of care and an outline of the chain of causation that allegedly resulted in damage to them." Sorenson, 457 N.W.2d at 193. We have made plain that "broad and conclusory statements as to causation" and "empty conclusions" are insufficient. Anderson v. Rengachary, 608 N.W.2d 843, 847-48 (Minn. 2000) (expert affidavit failed to set forth standard of care, did not identify acts or omissions that violated standard of care and made no attempt to outline chain of causation resulting in injury ); Lindberg, 599 N.W.2d at 578 (expert affidavit failed to state how health care providers departed from standard of care, failed to recite facts upon which expert would rely as a basis for expert opinion and failed to outline a chain of causation); Stroud v. Hennepin County Med. Ctr.,556 N.W.2d 552, 556 (Minn. 1996) (expert affidavit provided only broad, conclusory statements as to causation and did not provide outline of chain of causation between alleged violations of standard of care and claimed damages, merely opining that delay in diagnosis resulted in complicated hospital stay).
The expert disclosure requirements cannot be met by a witness who is not qualified to give an expert opinion. Teffeteller, 645 N.W.2d at 427 (expert not specialized in field of pediatric oncology or experienced with bone marrow transplants not qualified to submit expert affidavit as to customary response for physicians treating pediatric bone marrow transplant patients); Wall v. Fairview Hosp. and Healthcare Servs., 584 N.W.2d 395, 405 (Minn. 1998) (psychologist and psychotherapist not qualified to provide expert opinion about the appropriate standard of care for a psychiatric nurse); cf. Cornfeldt v. Tongen, 262 N.W.2d 684, 692 (Minn. 1977) (expert medical witnesses must have both sufficient scientific knowledge and practical experience with respect to subject matter of the offered testimony).
We have been firm in holding that failure by the plaintiff to strictly satisfy the requirements under Minn. Stat. § 145.682, subd. 4(a) results in dismissal of the claim with prejudice. Teffeteller, 645 N.W.2d at 430-31 (dismissal of malpractice action mandated where expert disclosure contained only broad and conclusory statements); Anderson, 608 N.W.2d at 848 (dismissal mandated where expert disclosure clearly failed to fulfill the statutory requirements); Lindberg, 599 N.W.2d at 578 (dismissal mandated where expert disclosure falls short of the substantive disclosure requirements).
Here, the district court found that Broehm's expert disclosure did not satisfy the requirements of Minn. Stat. § 145.682 because it failed to identify an expert qualified to testify to the applicable standards of care. The Wick disclosure set forth four duties that Mayo allegedly owed Broehm and that Wick claimed were breached:
1. Obtain her informed consent to the use of a head restraint device that had a foreseeable risk of causing a permanent wound and scarring to her forehead if, such was a known or f
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