Minnesota Clinics Avoid Vascular Surgery, Care Malpractice Suit

A Minnesota woman was denied a second chance at a medical malpractice suit against two medical centers in connection with her vascular surgery and post-surgical care because her expert witness wasn’t qualified to testify against them, a state appeals court said.

Jolene Luczak’s expert witness—an interventional radiologist—had experience in diagnosing a condition called popliteal artery entrapment syndrome, but lacked “practical experience” in treating it surgically. The witness thus couldn’t testify about whether Luczak’s vascular surgeon acted reasonably under the circumstances, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said Monday in an unpublished decision.

Minnesota is one of the few states that doesn’t ...