Wexler v. Hecht’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(a) GENERAL RULE.-No person shall be competent to offer an expert medical opinion in a medical professional liability action against a physician unless that person possesses sufficient education, training, knowledge and experience to provide credible, competent testimony and fulfills the additional qualifications set forth in this section as applicable. (b) MEDICAL TESTIMONY.-An expert testifying on a medical matter, including the standard of care, risks and alternatives, causation and the nature and extent of the injury, must meet the following qualifications: (1) Possess an unrestricted physician's license to practice medicine in any state or the District of Columbia. (2) Be engaged in or retired within the previous five years from active clinical practice or teaching. Provided, however, the court may waive the requirements of this subsection for an expert on a matter other than the standard of care if the court determines that the expert is otherwise competent to testify about medical or scientific issues by virtue of education, training or experience. (c) STANDARD OF CARE.-In addition to the requirements set forth in subsections (a) and (b), an expert testifying as to a physician's standard of care also must meet the following qualifications: (1) Be substantially familiar with the applicable standard of care for the specific care at issue as of the time of the alleged breach of the standard of care. (2) Practice in the same subspecialty as the defendant physician or in a ”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 2007 Pa. Super. 264 - Gbur v. Golio · 2016 Pa. Super. 76 - Price, R. v. Catanzariti, A.

2. “Judge Beck reasoned that a rule or statute does not operate retrospectively merely because it is applied in a case that arises from conduct that preceded its promulgation or alters expectations deriving from prior laws. Rather, she indicated, “the court must ask whether the new provision attaches new legal consequences to events completed before its enactment.” Judge Beck observed that this Court has expressly considered the issue of retroactivity in terms of whether or not the rule or statute in question affects vested rights, or rights that “so completely and definitely belong to a person that [they] cannot be impaired or taken away without the person’s consent.” She reasoned that Rule 1042.3 merely added a procedural requirement for going forward with a suit, designed to provide some assurance that the claims are based on arguably meritorious assertions, and did not infringe on any vested right. (“To be a retroactive application to appellant’s suit, Rule 1042.3 would have to give the alleged incidents of malpractice a new legal effect — i.e., one that is different from their legal effect under the rules existing at the time the incidents occurred. This is not the case.”)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Miegoc v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board

3. “if scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge beyond that possessed by a layperson will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Wright v. Residence Inn by Marriott, Inc.