Many states require a standard of care expert to be board certified or actively practicing in the same specialty as the defendant. Some also require a defined proportion of recent practice in clinical work.
Requirements are statutory in most states imposing them.
Alternative Names:
Specialty Matching Requirement, Same Specialty Rule
Why it Matters?
These statutes provide a mechanical exclusion route that does not require engaging with the opinion's substance, and defects are common where a plaintiff retained an expert in an adjacent field. Active practice requirements are separately productive, since professional witnesses who devote most of their time to litigation may fail a statutory clinical practice threshold. Checking the statute against the expert's actual practice profile is a routine early step.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why are these statutes useful?
What is the active practice requirement?
