{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-411.167","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 411.167","heading":"Certificate of merit for medical malpractice actions.","body":"(1) A claimant commencing any action identified in KRS 413.140(1)(e), or against a\nlong-term-care facility as defined in KRS 216.510 alleging that the long -term-care\nfacility failed to provide proper care to one (1) or more residents of the facility, shall\nfile a certificate of merit with the complaint in the court in which the action is\ncommenced.\n(2) \"Certificate of merit\" means an affidavit or declaration that:\n(a) The claimant has reviewed the facts of the case and has consulted with at least\none (1) expert  qualified pursuant to the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure\nand the Kentucky Rules of Evidence who is qualified to give expert testimony\nas to the standard of care or negligence and who the claimant or his or her\ncounsel reasonably believes is knowledgeab le in the relevant issues involved\nin the particular action, and has concluded on the basis of review and\nconsultation that there is reasonable basis to commence the action;\n(b) The claimant was unable to obtain the consultation required by paragraph (a)\nof this subsection because a limitation of time established by KRS Chapter\n413 would bar the action and that the consultation could not reasonably be\nobtained before that time expired. An affidavit or declaration executed\npursuant to this paragraph shall be supplemented by an affidavit or declaration\npursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection or paragraph (c) of this subsection\nwithin sixty (60) days after service of the complaint or the suit shall be\ndismissed unless the court grants an extension for good cause; or\n(c) The claimant was unable to obtain the consultation required by paragraph (a)\nof this subsection because the claimant or his or her counsel had made at least\nthree (3) separate good-faith attempts with three (3) different experts to obtain\na consultation and that none of those contacted would agree to a consultation;\nso long as none of those contacted gave an opinion that there was no\nreasonable basis to commence the action.\n(3) A single certificate of merit is required for an action even if m ore than one (1)\ndefendant has been named in the complaint or is subsequently named.\n(4) A certificate of merit is not required where the claimant intends to rely solely on\none (1) or more causes of action for which expert testimony is not required,\nincluding claims of res ipsa loquitur and lack of informed consent, in which case the\ncomplaint shall be accompanied by an affidavit or declaration that no cause of\naction is asserted for which expert testimony is required.\n(5) If a request by the claimant for t he records of the claimant's medical treatment by\nthe defendants has been made and the records have not been produced, the claimant\nshall not be required to file a certificate of merit under this section until ninety (90)\ndays after the records have been p roduced. For purposes of this section, \"records\"\nincludes but is not limited to paper or electronic copies of dictations, video\nrecordings, fetal heart monitor strips, and imaging studies.\n(6) The identity and statements of an expert relied upon in subsection (2) of this section\nabove are not discoverable, except:\n(a) When a claim is made under subsection (2)(c) of this section that the claimant\nwas unable to obtain the required consultation with an expert, the court, upon\nthe request of a defendant made pr ior to compliance by the claimant with this\nsection, may require the claimant to divulge to the court, in camera and\nwithout disclosure by the court to any other party, the names of the physicians\nrefusing to consult; or\n(b) If any party to an action heret o prevails on the basis of the failure of an\nopposing party to offer any competent expert testimony, the court may, upon\nmotion, for good cause shown compel the opposing party or party's counsel to\nprovide to the court the name of any expert consulted and any written\nmaterials relied upon in executing the certificate.\n(7) The claimant, in lieu of serving a certificate of merit, may provide the defendant or\ndefendants with expert information in the form required by the Kentucky Rules of\nCivil Procedure. Nothing in this section requires the disclosure of any \"consulting\"\nor nontrial expert, except as expressly stated in this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 411"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49312","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:35Z","sha256":"75add6b5a4c55678b0a483ae6d8e3d6ad1d891b909172d87763d6bfe589fc351","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-411.165","next":"us-ky/krs-411.170"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}