Medical Litigation Expert

What do the attorneys look for in establishing a relationship of expert witness with MSCPA?

MSCPA refers the attorney and client to a list of questions and items to be discussed between the attorney and MSCPA.

QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE ATTORNEY TO DETERMINE ADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY

Note: The attorney of record should meet with any expert well in advance of any affidavit filing, depositions, and/or trial to determine the basis for the expert’s opinion and the scope of their expertise.

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IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE THE SCOPE OF THE EXPERT TESTIMONY. THE ATTORNEY OF RECORD MUST OBJECT TO ANY CROSS -EXAMINATION QUESTIONS WHICH ARE OUT OF THE SCOPE FOR THE EXPERT’S TESTIMONY.

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A. Questions to be answered:

  1. What is the case about that requires an expert to explain?

  2. What is it about this case that a lay person with no background in this field (i.e. jury, court) might not understand.

  3. What are the key principles of the case that a person without education or expertise in this field would need to grasp in order to understand this case?

  4. Can the expert explain the involved principles, etc. in this field of study to non-expert?

  5. Does the expert believe the testimony he/she gives will aid the judge or jury in understanding the facts in the case?

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B. What is the cost of the expert witness testimony?

Retainer fee and hourly rate can be given to the attorney of records.

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C. Further questions to be given to the expert:

  1. What would be the basis for the experts opinion?

  2. Is the expertise offered by the expert junk science or “hard” science.

  3. Is any of the expert testimony require subjective interpretation.

  4. Is the technique and or theory the expert offers been peer reviewed?

  5. Does the expert have publications that he/she has authored?

  6. Has the expert’s work been criticized in the literature and was that criticism handled appropriately by the expert?

  7. Is the technique and or theory in the case well accepted in the scientific community?

  8. Can the technique/theory be used by the medical community for diagnosis, treatment, and social work assessment?

  9. Is there controversy in the medical profession about the efficacy or reliability of the field?