A bill for an act relating to medical malpractice claims, including expert witness certificate of merit affidavits.

This bill requires plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases to submit a sworn statement (certificate of merit affidavit) from each expert witness within 60 days of the defendant’s answer. The affidavit must verify the expert’s familiarity with the standard of care, confirm the healthcare provider breached that standard, and link the breach to the injury or death. It also sets strict deadlines: motions challenging the affidavit’s validity must be filed within 60 days of submission or 60 days before trial, and parties cannot withdraw/refile affidavits except to add missing signatures. This applies directly to plaintiffs filing malpractice claims and defendants seeking to challenge those claims.