Expert Witness Blog
Practical guidance for expert witnesses — testimony, report writing, depositions, fees and building a successful practice.
January 2, 2013
How to Find Expert Witnesses
Attorneys use many different methods to locate and find expert witnesses. These include the following:
Attorneys use many different methods to locate expert witnesses. These include the following: Other attorneys – typically a referral from a colleague within the firm or a co-member of a professional association of attorneys such as AAJ or DRI. Experts who opposed the attorney in past cases – attorneys will take note of effective expert witnesses they have come against
Read moreDecember 28, 2012
Workers’ Compensation and AMA Guides Expert Witnesses
The Workers' Compensation expert witness testifying from the 6th Edition of the AMA Guides is vulnerable to cross-examination in numerous areas including:
Workers’ Compensation Expert Witnesses A significant portion of the Workers’ Compensation litigation is now the cross-examination of the Workers’ Compensation AMA Guides expert witness. The Workers’ Compensation Expert is almost exclusively a physician testifying about the presence or lack of permanent impairment in the claimant/injured worker. The Workers’ Compensation expert witness testifying from the 6th Edition of the AMA Guides is vulnerable
Read moreDecember 23, 2012
Trucking Expert Witness Opinion Excluded under Daubert
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia held that a trucking expert witness opinion did not meet the Daubert Standard.
Trucking Expert Witness Opinion Excluded under Daubert In Call v. Harrison, The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has held that a trucking expert witness opinion did not meet the reliability threshold imposed by Daubert. The court reasoned: Call offered the expert testimony of a [a Trucking Expert], whose report indicates has many years of experience in
Read moreDecember 22, 2012
Insurance Claims Expert Witness Found Qualified to Testify
The court finds Mr. Schratz is qualified to testify as an expert witness, as to claims handling issues based on his knowledge, skill, training and education.
Insurance Claims Expert Witness Found Qualified to Testify In Lucas v. Texas International Life Insurance Company the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma has ruled that an insurance claims expert witness is qualified to testify on claims under a cancer/dread disease policy or standards for bad faith in Oklahoma. The court reasoned: Defendant has also objected to
Read moreDecember 22, 2012
Patent Infringement Expert Witness Excluded for Lack of Qualifications
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that a patent infringement expert witness was not qualified on the issue of non-infringement.
Patent Infringement Expert Witness Excluded for Lack of Qualifications In Morpho Detection v. Smiths Detection, The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that a patent infringement expert witness who admitted that he did not have the experience of one of ordinary skill in the art (the definition agreed upon by the parties) was not qualified
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
How to Start Providing Expert Witness Services
Expert Witnessing is a one strike and you are out environment, those providing expert witness services will want to deliver a superior work product and avoid traps for the unwary.
How to Get Going Providing Expert Witness Services Providing expert witness services is, in a certain sense, a very simple and easy business to get into. The three practical things you will need are: 1) Some experience, knowledge, skill, or training that a litigator may find of use in a case. 2) A curriculum vitae (CV) 3) An expert witness
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
Types of Expert Witnesses
As someone who focuses in a sub area of expertise, the niche expert witness will tend to be more knowledgeable and more in demand by litigators. Many types of expert witnesses that we train operate in a niche or sub niche and are very successful doing so
Types of Expert Witnesses I am often asked who is qualified to become an expert witness. Many qualified people never consider getting into expert witnessing work because “they are not a doctor.” Others may think that their area of expertise is too narrow. Let’s debunk both of these common misconceptions. First of all, you don’t need to be a PhD,
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
Expert Witness Liability
The law on expert witness liability is somewhat sparse and varies from state to state, but the expert should note the following four general guidelines...
What is the legal liability of an expert witness The law generally affords certain immunities to an expert witness from civil liability stemming from testimony or communications made in the course of litigation. The law on this subject is somewhat sparse and varies from state to state, but the expert witness should note the following four general guidelines. Expert witnesses
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
Role of An Expert Witness
Expert witnesses who appear to be hired guns or advocates for their clients rapidly lose credibility. The most effective expert witnesses call cases as they see them. They are advocates for their opinions, not the party who is paying their fees.
Role of An Expert Witness Expert witnesses are allowed under the rules of evidence to “help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue” (See Federal Rule of Evidence 702). The trier of fact in a jury trial is the jury and the trier of fact in a bench trial is the judge.
Read moreDecember 14, 2012
Expert Witness Questions
The questions asked on cross examination will typically be leading ones where the cross examiner tries to tightly control the expert witness and restrict the him to “yes” or “no” responses.
Expert Witness Questions Expert witnesses should anticipate the types of questions which they will face at deposition and during direct and cross examination. The types of questions the expert witness is likely to face while testifying at deposition and during direct and cross examination varies greatly. An expert witness in civil cases is on average 15-20 times more likely to
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