A bill for an act relating to medical malpractice claims, including expert witness certificate of merit affidavits, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

This Iowa bill requires plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases to submit a notarized affidavit from a qualified medical expert within 60 days of the defendant's answer. The affidavit must confirm the expert's familiarity with medical standards, verify that the healthcare provider breached those standards, and link the breach to the injury or death. Failure to provide this affidavit results in automatic dismissal of the case. The bill also prohibits parties from withdrawing or refiling affidavits except to correct missing signatures and restricts challenges to affidavits to within 60 days of filing.