Alaska Top Court Adopts Flexible Approach for Medical Experts

An Alaska man’s estate got a second chance at holding an emergency medical practice liable for his death because a trial court improperly excluded expert testimony in the case, Alaska’s top court said.

A statutory requirement that expert witnesses be board-certified and have expertise and training relevant to the medical treatment in question doesn’t mean the expert must have the exact same qualifications as the medical defendant, the Alaska Supreme Court said.

Rather, Alaska courts must take a “flexible” approach and determine—based on the facts and circumstances—if the expert’s training, expertise, and board-certification is directly related to the alleged malpractice, ...