LDM Defends Healthcare Providers on Appeal

Attorney Theodore T. Appel presented oral arguments to the Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in an appeal defending hospitals and healthcare professionals. The appeal involved Iowa Code section 147.140, known as the certificate of merit affidavit statute. This statute requires a plaintiff to provide an affidavit from a qualified medical expert early in litigation that verifies the allegations of medical malpractice. Failure to substantially comply with the statute requires dismissal of the case. In this specific appeal, Appel argued that the plaintiffs did not substantially comply with the statute because the plaintiffs’ expert signing the certificate of merit was not in a same or substantially similar field as their clients and that the expert failed to sign an affidavit. A ruling is expected in the next months. LDM is committed to defending healthcare providers and hospitals both at trial and on appeal.