Compliance With Medical Malpractice Pre-Suit Requirements—What Attorneys Need to Know

The plaintiff's service of the statutorily required written corroborating affidavit of an expert in the "same specialty" as the defendant health care provider prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations precludes dismissal with prejudice of the plaintiff's medical malpractice complaint even though the affidavit was not contemporaneously served with the plaintiff's pre-suit notices of intent to initial litigation. In Martinez v. Ortiz, No. 2D21-653, 2022 WL 4389891 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 23, 2022), the Second District therefore reversed the trial court's dismissal order predicated on the fact that the plaintiff's notices of intent were not accompanied by the required written corroborating medical expert opinion and that the plaintiff's expert did not practice in the "same specialty" as the defendant doctor.