Patient’s Failure to File Mandatory Report Dooms Federal Case

A medical malpractice plaintiff can’t proceed with his federal court claim because he didn’t file an affidavit in which an expert said his case had merit, as required by Delaware state law, the Third Circuit said.

The Delaware Health-Care Negligence Insurance and Litigation Act’s affidavit of merit requirement didn’t conflict with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said in an unpublished decision Thursday.

Additionally, the provision constituted substantive law applicable in a federal court presiding in a case between citizens of different states, Judge Patty Shwartz said. Arguments that state tort ...