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The Quarterly Dose

Certificate of Merit Reform Takes Center Stage in Pennsylvania

The Quarterly Dose – February 2026

February 25, 2026

by Michael J. Cadigan Jr.

On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Pennsylvania State Representative Bryan Cutler of House District 100 proposed a bill that is intended to “provide measured and meaningful reform to Pennsylvania’s medical liability statutes.” House Bill 2088, in addition to its Senate Companion, SB 340, proposes to amend the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (Mcare) Act. Acting together, the proposed bills seek to reshape the outset of medical professional liability actions, providing for definitions and additional expert qualifications, and increasing transparency on how claims of medical liability are reviewed on their merit

As the law currently stands, 23 Pa. Code Rule 1042.3 promulgates Pennsylvania’s Certificate of Merit requirement and states within at least 60 days of filing a complaint, the plaintiff must file a document verifying that a defending licensed professional deviated from the requisite standard of care with respect to the plaintiff, and that they have appropriate support for that proposition. When filing the Certificate of Merit, a plaintiff is not required to identify the expert providing support for their case. Most often, counsel for a plaintiff files a certification that an appropriate licensed professional has supplied a written statement that there exists a reasonable probability that the care, skill or knowledge exercised or exhibited in the treatment, practice or work that is the subject of the complaint, fell outside acceptable professional standards and that such conduct was a cause in bringing about the harm. The requirements of the law were originally designed to deter unsupported claims before they could cause financial and reputational harm to providers.

Additional requirements regarding who may qualify to sign a plaintiff’s Certificate of Merit are also spelled out in Section 512 of the Pennsylvania Mcare Act. Currently, a provider may support a Certificate of Merit if they possess sufficient education, training, knowledge and experience to provide credible, competent testimony and have an unrestricted license in any state, including the District of Columbia. The provider may also support the Certificate of Merit so long as they practice in the same (or a substantially similar) specialty as the defendant doctor, with the limitation that they cannot have retired in excess of the past five years from active practice or teaching in the same, or a substantially similar, specialty as the defendant. House Bill 2088 seeks to reinforce these requirements and proposes to add stricter qualifications for experts who may support a Certificate of Merit.

Under the proposed bill, only providers who hold an unrestricted Pennsylvania medical license and actively practice or teach in the same (or substantially similar) specialty as the defendant may support a Certificate of Merit. Additionally, the proposed version of the bill removes the language allowing for the supporting provider to have returned within the past five years from active practice or teaching. Any provider supporting a Certificate of Merit would now have to maintain an active license in Pennsylvania and be engaged in practice of the same or a substantially similar specialty as the defendant doctor. The largest change in the proposed bill requires a plaintiff to file the contact information and curriculum vitae of the physician supporting the Certificate of Merit.

Supporters of the new bill frame it as a necessary refinement, whereas critics may argue it raises barriers to an already complex area of practice. Representative Cutler says these measures seek to reinforce public trust in the fairness, rigor, and efficiency of Pennsylvania’s medical liability system, and that the benefits of the proposed bill are four-fold:

  • Reduce frivolous lawsuits by requiring claims to be supported by credible, licensed professionals;
  • Protect health care providers from reputational harm and rising malpractice insurance costs, which can ultimately drive up the cost of care;
  • Enhance expert witness integrity by requiring experts to be licensed in Pennsylvania, actively practicing or teaching, and board-certified in the relevant specialty; and
  • Limit judicial waivers for expert qualifications, ensuring consistent application of standards.

Whether House Bill 2088 and/or Senate Bill 340 ultimately pass in their current forms remains to be seen. What is clear is that practitioners on both sides should closely track these measures, as their adoption could significantly impact expert-vetting and procedural practice.

 

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Thought Leadership

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The Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently reinforced a critical limitation on bad faith claims, holding that a timely filing alone will not preserve a cause of action absent a good-faith effort to serve the original process. The plaintiff had presented a claim for underinsured motorist benefits to his auto insurer. The insurer evaluated the claim and determined that the plaintiff’s accident-related damages did not exceed the bodily injury liability insurance limits of the at-fault driver and denied his claim. Among other claims, the plaintiff sought to present a claim for insurance bad faith under 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 8371, to which a two year statute of limitation applies. He first filed a praecipe for writ of summons before the expiration of the statute of limitation. However, the plaintiff did not attempt to serve the praecipe or writ until after the statute of limitations had expired. Additionally, the service failed as the plaintiff had mailed the original process to an incorrect address. Despite receipt of the Postal Service’s failure to deliver the original process, the plaintiff did not attempt to re-serve the writ. Two months later, the plaintiff filed a complaint and then successfully served that complaint. The insurer sought to dismiss the plaintiff’s bad faith claim as time-barred by the statute of limitations. The district court agreed. Though the plaintiff had filed a praecipe for a writ of summons prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, the statute is only tolled if there is a good faith effort to serve that original process. In this case, the court determined that the plaintiff had failed to perform a “good faith effort to serve the original process”. Additionally, though the filing and service of a complaint can serve as alternative original process when the lawsuit is commenced by the filing of a praecipe for a writ of summons, the plaintiff filed his complaint after the statute of limitations had expired. The plaintiff’s bad faith claim was therefore determined to be barred by the statute of limitations and dismissed by the court, with prejudice. A key takeaway for the defense is not to assume that the statute of limitations has been successfully tolled by a plaintiff merely because a praecipe for a writ of summons or complaint has been filed prior to the expiration of the statute. A filed complaint or writ is only part of the equation. The defense should carefully review the docket and filings to confirm that the plaintiff also performed the requisite good faith effort to serve that original process. A thorough review of the docket may reveal that the plaintiff failed to make the good-faith service efforts necessary to toll the statute of limitations.

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