Superior Court Strengthens Certificate of Merit Rule
for Expert Witness Testimony

A recent Superior Court decision is another reminder of the critical role appellate court judges play in the medical liability system in Pennsylvania. Certificate of Merit is the court rule, which requires plaintiff's attorney to file a separate certificate of merit for each licensed professional against whom a claim is alleged. The rule requires a plaintiff to obtain a written statement by an appropriate licensed professional, certifying "that there exists a reasonable probability that the care, skill, or knowledge exercised or exhibited in the treatment, practice or work fell outside acceptable standards and that such conduct was a cause in bringing about the harm."

In the case Womer v. Hilliker, the plaintiff failed to file a certificate of merit in a timely manner and the Superior Court upheld Allegheny Court Judge R. Stanton Wettick, Jr.,'s ruling that an oversight by an attorney which resulted in no attempt to file a Certificate of Merit in a timely manner could not justify a finding of "substantial compliance."

"This case is noteworthy as it represents a continued dedication by the courts of the Commonwealth to the strict requirements of the Certificate of Merit Rules," stated an October newsletter from the law firm of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP.
Read the firm's bulletin on the case