§ 8.01-20.1.Certification of expert witness opinion at time of service of process.

Subsection A ties a certification requirement to the moment a medical malpractice case reaches a defendant. When the plaintiff first requests service of process on a defendant, or asks a defendant to accept service, the complaint, counterclaim, or third-party claim is deemed a certification that the plaintiff has obtained, from an expert witness reasonably believed to qualify under § 8.01-581.20(A), a written opinion, signed by that expert, stating that the defendant deviated from the applicable standard of care and that the deviation proximately caused the claimed injuries. No further statement from the expert is required for this purpose, a plaintiff may obtain separate certifications for standard of care and for causation, and every defendant covered by a given certification must be identified in it.

Subsection B excuses the certification in a narrow situation: when the plaintiff, in good faith, alleges a theory of liability where expert testimony is unnecessary because the claimed negligence clearly falls within the range of a jury’s common knowledge and experience. Subsection C then shields the certifying expert from most discovery — that expert need not be the one expected to testify at trial, and a defendant is not entitled to learn the certifying expert’s identity, qualifications, or the substance of the opinion, unless the certifying expert is later identified as a trial witness, at which point the opinions and their bases become discoverable under Rule 4:1, except for the fact that the expert also served as the certifying expert.

Subsection D adds a follow-up deadline: within twenty-one days after a defendant on whom service was requested files an answer, the plaintiff must certify to that defendant either that the necessary certifying opinion was obtained at the time service was requested, or that no such opinion was needed. The court, for good cause, may review the certifying opinion in camera. If the plaintiff did not obtain a required certifying opinion when service of process was requested, the court must impose sanctions under § 8.01-271.1 and may dismiss the case with prejudice.