Wyoming Pre-Suit Expert Review Memorandum and Internal Merit Certification (Wyoming has NO statutory certificate of merit; this template documents pre-suit expert review and reflects the now-repealed Medical Review Panel framework)

WYOMING PRE-SUIT EXPERT REVIEW MEMORANDUM AND INTERNAL MERIT CERTIFICATION

I. BACKGROUND: WYOMING'S PRE-SUIT FRAMEWORK

A. No Statutory Certificate of Merit

Wyoming, unlike many states (e.g., Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey), has never enacted a statutory certificate-of-merit, affidavit-of-merit, or expert-attestation requirement as a precondition to filing a medical malpractice complaint. There is no Wyoming statute, rule of civil procedure, or local rule of any Wyoming district court mandating that the plaintiff file an attorney certification, expert affidavit, or qualified-expert opinion at or near the time of filing.

B. Repeal of the Wyoming Medical Review Panel Act

For more than three decades, W.S. §§ 9-2-1513 through 9-2-1523 (the "Medical Review Panel Act") required, with limited exceptions, that a claim against a Wyoming health care provider be submitted to a three-member medical review panel administered by the Wyoming Department of Health before any civil action could be filed in court. The panel issued a non-binding advisory decision; statutes of limitation were tolled during the pendency of panel review; and panel deliberations were generally inadmissible at any subsequent trial.

The Wyoming Legislature repealed the entire Medical Review Panel Act by 2021 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 99, § 2, effective July 1, 2022. For any cause of action accruing or any complaint filed on or after that date, no pre-suit panel review is required.

The historical panel framework is preserved in Section II below for reference and for any matter still pending under the pre-repeal regime.

C. Continuing Pre-Suit Obligations Under Wyoming Law

Although no certificate or panel review is required, counsel filing a medical malpractice action in Wyoming remains bound by the following:

☐ Wyo. R. Civ. P. 11(b) — every pleading, motion, or paper, by signature, certifies that to the best of the signer's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after a reasonable inquiry, the factual contentions have evidentiary support and the legal contentions are warranted by existing law or a non-frivolous argument for extension or modification thereof.

☐ Wyoming Rule of Professional Conduct 3.1 — a lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding unless there is a basis in law and fact for doing so that is not frivolous.

☐ Wyoming Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 — a lawyer shall provide competent representation, requiring legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.

☐ W.S. § 1-3-107 — strict two-year statute of limitations from the date of the act, error, or omission, with a discovery-rule exception and six-month extension for second-year discovery; tolling during minority subject to Kordus v. Montes, 2014 WY 146.

The best-practice consensus among Wyoming medical malpractice practitioners is to obtain a written, signed expert opinion from a qualified health care provider in the relevant specialty before filing. This memorandum documents that review.

II. HISTORICAL REFERENCE: REPEALED MEDICAL REVIEW PANEL FRAMEWORK

(Retained for matters filed before July 1, 2022, or otherwise still subject to the panel)

A. Panel Composition (Former W.S. § 9-2-1516)

The former Medical Review Panel was a three-member panel (after 2010 amendments; originally five) constituted for each claim by the Director of the Wyoming Department of Health from rotating lists, comprising:

☐ One (1) Wyoming-licensed health care provider in the same or similar specialty as the respondent provider, drawn from a list of twelve provided by the relevant licensing agency;

☐ One (1) Wyoming-licensed attorney with civil litigation experience, drawn from a list of twelve provided by the Wyoming State Bar; and

☐ One (1) lay member of the public not employed in any health care or legal profession.

B. Pre-Suit Panel Filing (Former W.S. §§ 9-2-1518, 9-2-1519)

Under the repealed Act:

☐ Unless waived, no complaint alleging malpractice could be filed in any Wyoming court until a claim was first submitted to the panel and the panel had issued its decision or otherwise concluded the matter;

☐ The applicable statute of limitations was tolled upon receipt by the Director of the claim and resumed running thirty (30) days after the panel's final decision or seventy-five (75) days after the panel's last hearing, whichever occurred earlier;

☐ The respondent provider was required to answer the claim within sixty (60) days after service of a medical-records release; failure to do so allowed the claimant to immediately proceed in court;

☐ Panel proceedings were confidential, and the panel's decision was non-binding and inadmissible at any subsequent trial except for limited impeachment purposes.

C. Post-Repeal Status

For any matter that was still pending before the panel at the time of repeal, the panel continued to operate solely to finalize those pre-July-1-2022 claims. No new claims may be filed with the panel.

III. PRE-SUIT EXPERT REVIEW MEMORANDUM (Best Practice — File Retention)

A. Identification of Matter

B. Reviewing Expert(s)

C. Materials Reviewed

The reviewing expert(s) examined the following materials prior to forming the opinions documented below:

☐ Complete medical records from [PROVIDER/FACILITY], dates [__/__/____] to [__/__/____];

☐ Imaging studies (CT / MRI / X-ray / ultrasound / other: [__________]) in original DICOM format;

☐ Pathology slides and reports;

☐ Laboratory results;

☐ Operative reports and anesthesia records;

☐ Nursing notes, vital-sign flow sheets, and medication administration records;

☐ Outpatient and consultation records;

☐ Autopsy/postmortem report (if applicable);

☐ Pertinent peer-reviewed literature and clinical practice guidelines;

☐ Such other materials as identified in the attached itemization.

D. Expert's Opinions (Standard of Care, Breach, Causation)

The reviewing expert has provided written opinions, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, that:

1. Standard of Care. The applicable standard of care imposed upon Defendant [____________________] under the circumstances required: [summarize].

2. Breach. Defendant [____________________] breached the standard of care in the following specific respects: [summarize].

3. Causation. The identified breach(es) were a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries, including: [summarize].

4. Damages. The injuries proximately caused by the breach include both economic and non-economic damages; no Wyoming statutory damages cap applies (Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4).

E. Counsel's Rule 11(b) Certification (Internal)

The undersigned counsel hereby certifies, for internal file purposes and pursuant to Wyo. R. Civ. P. 11(b) and Wyoming Rule of Professional Conduct 3.1, that:

☐ Counsel has conducted a reasonable factual and legal inquiry into the claims to be asserted;

☐ Counsel has reviewed the pertinent medical records and other source materials;

☐ Counsel has consulted with one or more qualified health care providers competent to testify as experts in the relevant specialty under Wyo. R. Evid. 702 and Wyo. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2);

☐ Such expert(s) have provided opinions, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, supporting each element of the claims to be asserted (duty, breach, causation, damages);

☐ The factual contentions of the planned Complaint have, or are likely to have after further investigation and discovery, evidentiary support;

☐ The legal contentions of the planned Complaint are warranted by existing Wyoming law or by a non-frivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law;

☐ The action is not being filed for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation;

☐ All applicable limitations periods have been verified and the action will be timely filed.

F. Statute-of-Limitations Verification

☐ Date of alleged act, error, or omission: [__/__/____]

☐ Date of discovery (if relevant): [__/__/____]

☐ Two-year W.S. § 1-3-107(a)(i) bar: [__/__/____]

☐ Discovery-rule W.S. § 1-3-107(a)(ii) bar: [__/__/____]

☐ Six-month extension (if discovered in second year) W.S. § 1-3-107(b): [__/__/____]

☐ Minor-tolling analysis under Kordus v. Montes completed: ☐ Yes ☐ N/A

☐ Governmental Claims Act notice (W.S. § 1-39-113), if applicable, served and waiting period satisfied: ☐ Yes ☐ N/A

IV. CERTIFICATION

I, [ATTORNEY NAME], a member in good standing of the Wyoming State Bar (Bar No. [____________]), having performed the foregoing pre-suit review, hereby certify that the foregoing is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, and that this memorandum has been prepared in good faith as work product to document compliance with Wyo. R. Civ. P. 11(b) and Wyoming Rule of Professional Conduct 3.1.

Dated this [____] day of [____________________], [____].

[____________________________________________]
[ATTORNEY NAME], Wyoming State Bar No. [____________]
[LAW FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS / TELEPHONE / EMAIL]

V. ATTACHMENTS (Retained in File)

☐ Attachment A — Signed expert opinion letter(s)

☐ Attachment B — Expert curriculum vitae

☐ Attachment C — Itemized list of materials reviewed

☐ Attachment D — Statute-of-limitations spreadsheet/calculation

☐ Attachment E — Pre-litigation correspondence and HIPAA-compliant records authorizations

☐ Attachment F — Governmental Claims Act notice (if applicable)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• W.S. §§ 9-2-1513 through 9-2-1523 (Medical Review Panel Act — repealed effective July 1, 2022): https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/2018/title-9/chapter-2/article-15/
• 2021 Wyo. Sess. Laws ch. 99, § 2 (repealing the Medical Review Panel Act)
• W.S. § 1-3-107 (statute of limitations): https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-1/chapter-3/section-1-3-107/
• Wyo. R. Civ. P. 11, 26(a)(2): https://www.wyocourts.gov/court-rules/wyoming-rules-of-civil-procedure/
• Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 3.1
• Kordus v. Montes, 2014 WY 146, 337 P.3d 1138
• "A First Look at Wyoming's Medical Review Panel Act" (historical commentary, U. Wyo. Land & Water Law Rev.): https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1740&context=land_water