ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR., Governor                                Ch. 5

2. The failure to file the certificate was neither willful nor
the result of gross negligence.

(2)     (I) A claim OR ACTION filed after July 1, 1986, may be adjudicated
in favor of the claimant OR PLAINTIFF on the issue of liability, AS TO A DEFENDANT if
the defendant disputes liability and fails to file a certificate of a qualified expert
attesting to compliance with standards of care, or that the departure from standards
of care is not the proximate cause of the alleged injury, within 120 days from the date
the claimant OR PLAINTIFF served the certificate of a qualified expert set forth in
paragraph (1) of this subsection on the defendant.

(II)     If the defendant does not dispute liability, a certificate of a
qualified expert is not required under this subsection.

(III)   The defendant shall serve a copy of the certificate on all other
parties to the claim OR ACTION or their attorneys of record in accordance with the
Maryland Rules.

(3)     (I) The attorney representing each party, or the party proceeding
pro se, shall file the appropriate certificate with a report of the attesting expert
attached.

(II) Discovery is available as to the basis of the certificate.

(4)      [The attesting expert] A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER WHO ATTESTS IN
A CERTIFICATE OF A QUALIFIED EXPERT OR WHO TESTIFIES IN RELATION TO A
PROCEEDING BEFORE AN ARBITRATION PANEL OR A COURT CONCERNING
COMPLIANCE WITH OR DEPARTURE FROM STANDARDS OF CARE may not devote
annually more than 20 percent of the expert's professional activities to activities that
directly involve testimony in personal injury claims.

(5)     An extension of the time allowed for filing a certificate of a qualified
expert under this subsection shall be granted for good cause shown.

(6)     In the case of a claim OR ACTION against a physician, the Director OR
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, AS THE CASE MAY BE, shall
forward copies of the certificates filed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection
to the State Board of Physicians.

(7)     For purposes of the certification requirements of this subsection for
any claim OR ACTION filed on or after July 1, 1989:

(i) A party may not serve as a party's expert; and

(ii) The certificate may not be signed by:

1.       A party;

2.       An employee or partner of a party; or

3.       An employee or stockholder of any professional
corporation of which the party is a stockholder.

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