(b) FILING EXTENSION.—Upon motion of a party for 
good cause shown, the court in which the complaint is filed 
may grant the plaintiff or, if the plaintiff is represented 
by an attorney, the plaintiff’s attorney an additional 28 
days in which to file the affidavit required under sub-
section (1). 
(c) STATE FLEXIBILITY.—No provision of this sec-
tion shall be construed to preempt any State law (whether 
effective before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act) that establishes additional requirements for the 
filing of an affidavit of merit or similar pre-litigation docu-
mentation. 
SEC. 12. EXPERT WITNESS QUALIFICATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In any health care lawsuit, an in-
dividual shall not give expert testimony on the appropriate 
standard of practice or care involved unless the individual 
is licensed as a health professional in 1 or more States 
and the individual meets the following criteria: 
(1) If the party against whom or on whose be-
half the testimony is to be offered is or claims to be 
a specialist, the expert witness shall specialize at the 
time of the occurrence that is the basis for the law-
suit in the same specialty or claimed specialty as the 
party against whom or on whose behalf the testi-
mony is to be offered. If the party against whom or 
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on whose behalf the testimony is to be offered is or 
claims to be a specialist who is board certified, the 
expert witness shall be a specialist who is board cer-
tified in that specialty or claimed specialty. 
(2) During the 1-year period immediately pre-
ceding the occurrence of the action that gave rise to 
the lawsuit, the expert witness shall have devoted a 
majority of the individual’s professional time to one 
or more of the following: 
(A) The active clinical practice of the same 
health profession as the defendant and, if the 
defendant is or claims to be a specialist, in the 
same specialty or claimed specialty. 
(B) The instruction of students in an ac-
credited health professional school or accredited 
residency or clinical research program in the 
same health profession as the defendant and, if 
the defendant is or claims to be a specialist, in 
an accredited health professional school or ac-
credited residency or clinical research program 
in the same specialty or claimed specialty. 
(3) If the defendant is a general practitioner, 
the expert witness shall have devoted a majority of 
the witness’s professional time in the 1-year period 
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preceding the occurrence of the action giving rise to 
the lawsuit to one or more of the following: 
(A) Active clinical practice as a general 
practitioner. 
(B) Instruction of students in an accred-
ited health professional school or accredited 
residency or clinical research program in the 
same health profession as the defendant. 
(b) LAWSUITS AGAINST ENTITIES.—If the defendant 
in a health care lawsuit is an entity that employs a person 
against whom or on whose behalf the testimony is offered, 
the provisions of paragraph (1) apply as if the person were 
the party or defendant against whom or on whose behalf 
the testimony is offered. 
(c) POWER OF COURT.—Nothing in this subsection 
shall limit the power of the trial court in a health care 
lawsuit to disqualify an expert witness on grounds other 
than the qualifications set forth under this subsection. 
(d) LIMITATION.—An expert witness in a health care 
lawsuit shall not be permitted to testify if the fee of the 
witness is in any way contingent on the outcome of the 
lawsuit. 
(e) STATE FLEXIBILITY.—No provision of this sec-
tion shall be construed to preempt any State law (whether 
effective before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
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this Act) that places additional qualification requirements 
upon any individual testifying as an expert witness. 
SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYS-
TEM; ADR.—The term ‘‘alternative dispute resolution 
system’’ or ‘‘ADR’’ means a system that provides 
for the resolution of health care lawsuits in a man-
ner other than through a civil action brought in a 
State or Federal court. 
(2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 
any person who brings a health care lawsuit, includ-
ing a person who asserts or claims a right to legal 
or equitable contribution, indemnity, or subrogation, 
arising out of a health care liability claim or action, 
and any person on whose behalf such a claim is as-
serted or such an action is brought, whether de-
ceased, incompetent, or a minor. 
(3) COLLATERAL
SOURCE
BENEFITS.—The 
term ‘‘collateral source benefits’’ means any amount 
paid or reasonably likely to be paid in the future to 
or on behalf of the claimant, or any service, product, 
or other benefit provided or reasonably likely to be 
provided in the future to or on behalf of the claim-
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ant, as a result of the injury or wrongful death, pur-
suant to— 
(A) any State or Federal health, sickness, 
income-disability, accident, or workers’ com-
pensation law; 
(B) any health, sickness, income-disability, 
or accident insurance that provides health bene-
fits or income-disability coverage; 
(C) any contract or agreement of any 
group, organization, partnership, or corporation 
to provide, pay for, or reimburse the cost of 
medical, hospital, dental, or income-disability 
benefits; and 
(D) any other publicly or privately funded 
program. 
(4) CONTINGENT FEE.—The term ‘‘contingent 
fee’’ includes all compensation to any person or per-
sons which is payable only if a recovery is effected 
on behalf of one or more claimants. 
(5) ECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘economic 
damages’’ means objectively verifiable monetary 
losses incurred as a result of the provision or use of 
(or failure to provide or use) health care services or 
medical products, such as past and future medical 
expenses, loss of past and future earnings, cost of 
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