No malpractice case survives on outrage — Pennsylvania requires qualified medical experts at the gate (the certificate of merit) and at trial, where the standard of care gets defined by physicians who practice it. This merged guide covers what experts do and how two specialties — neurology and radiology — illustrate it.
What Pennsylvania Requires of Experts
MCARE sets qualification rules: experts opining on standard of care must generally be actively practicing (or recently so) in the relevant field, with same-or-similar specialty and board-certification matching requirements for specialist defendants. [ATTORNEY VERIFY current MCARE §512 framing.] Translation: cases get evaluated by the defendant’s true peers — which is exactly what makes credible expert review the first, unskippable step of our malpractice practice.
Two Specialties That Decide Cases
- Neurologists — in brain injury, stroke-response, and nerve-damage cases: was the deficit caused by the negligence, and what does its future cost? Neurology experts carry both causation and damages.
- Radiologists — in missed-diagnosis cases: what did the imaging show, and would a reasonably careful radiologist have reported it? The film is the fact; the expert is the standard.
Experts also serve the honest screen — telling us, before anyone files, that care met standards. That answer costs you nothing and is worth exactly as much as the opposite one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my treating doctor be the expert?
Treaters testify about your care and condition; independent qualified experts typically carry the standard-of-care opinion. Cases often need both, in different roles.
What’s a certificate of merit?
Pennsylvania requires a licensed professional’s statement that the care fell below standards before a malpractice case proceeds — a screening rule that makes expert review the first step, not an afterthought.
Can I afford to bring a malpractice case?
These cases run on contingency with costs advanced per the written fee agreement — no attorney’s fee unless we recover. The expensive part (experts) is exactly why honest early screening matters.
Concerned about the care you or a family member received? Call (215) 464-4600 or contact us online — free, confidential, records-first evaluations.