A Michigan malpractice claim against a podiatrist is not an ordinary medical case. The expert who signs the affidavit of merit and the expert who testifies on the standard of care both have to clear a statutory bar that is narrower than most people expect, and the pool of physicians who clear it is small.

What MCL 600.2169 requires

For standard-of-care testimony in a Michigan medical malpractice action, the statute sets three tests where the party the testimony concerns is a specialist:

• Matching specialty. The expert must specialize, at the time of the occurrence, in the same specialty as the party the testimony is offered against or on behalf of.
• Matching board certification. If that party is a specialist who is board certified, the expert must be board certified in that specialty.
• Majority of professional time. During the year immediately preceding the occurrence, the expert must have devoted a majority of professional time to the active clinical practice of the same health profession, to instructing students in it, or to both.

Read together, those three tests mean that a claim against a board-certified podiatrist calls for a board-certified podiatric physician who is still practising. An expert who has retired, or who has moved into full-time consulting, has a problem with the third test. An orthopedic surgeon has a problem with the first two.

How I meet each test

• Specialty. Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, in foot and ankle surgical practice at two Michigan offices.
• Board certification. Certified by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery and by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
• Active practice. Full-time clinical and surgical practice. Medical-legal work is a minority of my professional time and is intended to stay that way, because the moment it stops being a minority the third test becomes an argument.

The full record of training, certification and licensure is on the Qualifications page, and it is verifiable through NPPES, the two certifying boards and LARA.

Where the expert fits in the Michigan sequence

Two pre-suit requirements make the timing matter more than it does in other states.

• Notice of intent. MCL 600.2912b requires written notice to each health professional and facility the claim concerns, and a wait of 182 days before the complaint is filed, with a shorter period in limited circumstances.
• Affidavit of merit. MCL 600.2912d requires the complaint to be accompanied by an affidavit signed by a health professional the plaintiff’s attorney reasonably believes meets the section 2169 requirements, stating the applicable standard of care, how it was breached, what should have been done instead, and how the breach caused the injury.

The practical consequence is that qualifying podiatric review belongs at the front of the file, before the notice of intent goes out, not after a complaint has been drafted. For defense counsel the mirror image applies: the first question worth asking about a plaintiff affidavit is whether its signer actually clears all three tests of section 2169.

Matters I review

• Diabetic foot ulceration, infection, osteomyelitis and amputation, including offloading and perfusion assessment
• Missed or mismanaged fractures, and missed Lisfranc and midfoot injuries
• Bunion, hammertoe and forefoot surgical complications, malunion, recurrence and revision
• Achilles tendon rupture, repair and re-rupture
• Foot drop and peroneal nerve injury after positioning, casting, arthroplasty or trauma
• Wound care, debridement and the timing of vascular or infectious-disease referral
• Orthotics, diabetic footwear and durable medical equipment questions

The Case types page covers these in more detail, and the resources for counsel set out how each is evaluated clinically.

Practice locations and logistics

I practise in Howell, in Livingston County, and in Bloomfield Township, in Oakland County. Record review and written opinions are not limited to Michigan. Independent medical examinations and testimony inside Michigan are straightforward; out of state they need travel or a remote arrangement, and the testifying requirements vary by state.

Fees are published in full on the fees and engagement page, and the same rate applies whichever side retains me.

Two companion pages go deeper: the affidavit of merit and the affidavit of meritorious defense, which is what each side actually has to file and by when, and podiatric or orthopedic expert, which answers the objection that a DPM is not an M.D.