Bob Waterman successfully defended an Eastern Iowa pain center in a professional malpractice action. The plaintiff filed suit alleging the pain center negligently treated her back pain and accused her of drug seeking, which allegedly caused her injury, but failed to submit the required certificate of merit affidavit from a qualified expert in support of her allegations. The Iowa District Court for Scott County entered an order (attached) granting the defense’s motion to dismiss, concluding in part: “Without an expert witness to establish the applicable standard of care, the Plaintiff cannot establish that [the pain center] breached the applicable standard of care. In addition, without an expert, the Plaintiff cannot show a causal relationship exists between [the pain center’s] alleged breaches and the Plaintiff’s alleged injuries.”

Bob Waterman joined Lane & Waterman in 1981 and for 39 years has focused his civil litigation practice for the defense primarily in the areas of professional malpractice, product liability, and insurance coverage litigation.