American Academy of Neurology elaborates expert witness ...( ST. PAUL Minn. The American Academy o...),Health

Medical expert testimony is defined by three components: 1) the medical evaluation, including a review of medical records and other pertinent data, or an interview and examination of the patient, or both; 2) an expert opinion based on the medical evaluation; and 3) communication of the opinion in the form of court testimony, deposition, affidavit, or answers to interrogatories.

In addition to having a valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine, physician expert witnesses should be fully trained in the specialty or subject matter related to the case. For instance, a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy would be an appropriate expert witness for a case regarding epilepsy. If a physician expert is not active in clinical practice when offering an expert opinion, the expert should be able to demonstrate competence to provide such an opinion, according to the qualifications outlined in the article.

Physician expert witnesses should conduct their testimony in an accurate, impartial, and relevant manner. The expert should acknowledge whether an opinion is based on personal clinical experience, published information, practice guidelines, or prevailing expert opinion, according to the article.

"There has been increasing focus on the conduct of physician expert witnesses over the last several years," said Michael A. Williams, MD, co-author of the article and the Chair of the AAN Ethics, Law and Humanities Committee. "The AAN's Qualifications and Guidelines for the Physician Expert Witness had not been changed since 1989, and we determined it was important to update them. Our goal is to promote expert witness testimony that is competent, tr
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Contact: Marilee Tuite
mtuite@aan.com
651-695-2789
American Academy of Neurology
23-Nov-2005