ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline) – A couple’s reliance on a pharmacist for expert testimony in their medical malpractice lawsuit was a bad idea, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled.
Justice Peter Maassen wrote the April 23 opinion for the court, which ruled a Fairbanks judge was right to toss the case of Marcie and William Beistline. A doctor’s decision to discontinue a medication caused a seizure, the Beistlines claimed, but the pharmacist was unqualified to back those accusations, the court ruled.
Defendants Bruce Footit and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital argued the Beistlines needed to find a doctor who was board-certified in the appropriate field to meet med-mal requirements passed by the state legislature.