Retired Doctor Can’t Be Expert In Iowa Medical Malpractice Suit

A plastic surgeon who signed a certificate of merit in a medical malpractice suit after he retired was not eligible to do so because Iowa law requires expert physicians to have licenses that allow for active practice, the Supreme Court of Iowa said.

As part of a medical malpractice suit, Renee Hummel submitted a merit affidavit signed by Dr. Richard Marfuggi, who had been in active practice through the end of April 2018, when Hummel’s surgery at the heart of the suit happened. Marfuggi retired in 2019, and since Hummel sued in 2020, he signed the affidavit after his New ...