June 15, 2026 by matray

The Iowa Supreme Court reversed dismissal of a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging failure to communicate a suspected kidney mass, holding that the plaintiff could rely on Iowa’s savings statute after voluntarily dismissing an earlier action with defective certificates of merit. 

Case: Trask v. Ahmed, No. 25-0671, 05/29/2026, published. 

Facts: A patient sought treatment at a hospital for abdominal pain in January 2018. Multiple medical professionals reviewed a CT scan that showed a suspected kidney mass, but none documented or communicated the finding to the patient or other medical staff. 

The patient was discharged without being informed of the mass. 

Several years later, an MRI revealed a kidney mass that was later confirmed to be cancer. The patient’s right kidney was removed. 

Procedural history: The plaintiff filed a medical malpractice action in September 2023 and submitted certificates of merit. 

After the Iowa Supreme Court clarified certificate-of-merit requirements in another case, the defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing the plaintiff’s certificates were defective. 

The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice and filed a new lawsuit within six months, relying on Iowa’s savings statute. 

A district judge dismissed the second suit, finding the savings statute did not apply because the failure of the first action was not compelled and resulted from the plaintiff’s own negligence in prosecuting the case. 

Analysis: The Iowa Supreme Court said the savings statute applied. 

The court said the plaintiff’s failure to provide compliant certificates of merit was not due to negligence because the legal requirements were unsettled before the court’s later clarification. 

The court also said the plaintiff was not required to resist summary judgment with futile arguments before voluntarily dismissing and refiling. 

Accordingly, the court said the second action should not have been dismissed. 

Disposition: Reversed and remanded. 

To read the court’s decision, click here.