Expert Witness Practice Development/Management

Affidavit of Merit: How to Write One & Advice for Physician Expert Witnesses Involved in Medical Malpractice Cases

Advice on how to write an affidavit of merit in a medical malpractice case from a former medical malpractice attorney.

by Nadine Nasser Donovan, Esq. Medical malpractice actions are unusual in that many states require patients (i.e. plaintiffs) to demonstrate that they have expert witness support for their medical malpractice allegations before suit is filed. Such requirements are grounded in either state statutes or regulations. These rules are designed to discourage frivolous malpractice lawsuits and encourage pre-suit settlements of claims.

Introverts Make Excellent Expert Witnesses

Steven Babitsky Esq. One of the biggest misconceptions about who can become an effective expert witness is that you need to be an extrovert to do this well. Over the course of my career I have talked to hundreds of experts in all fields who essentially said the same thing: “I am an introvert and probably not cut out to

Expert Witness Fees: Working for Multiple Attorneys

Steven Babitsky, Esq. Expert witnesses may find themselves working on a case for multiple attorneys who have the same client or clients with similar interests. In these cases, the attorneys may propose that they ‘share’ paying the expert for their services. The expert should seriously consider rejecting this proposal for the following reasons: Assuming that you have an employment contract

Experts Check Your Website!

Steven Babitsky, Esq. Expert witnesses should check their own websites at least once per week to make sure that it is functioning properly. Recently, I was working with an expert witness client and asked him to visit the site of another client’s website. I was going to demonstrate what a good website looked like. I went to the website and

Expert Witnesses Need to Warm Up in the Bullpen

Steven Babitsky, Esq. I was speaking with an expert witness and he described his problem at deposition: “I do very well generally at my depositions. I am well-prepared, know my stuff, and have experience. The problem is it takes me 20-30 minutes to warm up during my deposition, so in the beginning of them I do not usually do well.”

Casting Doubt on Psychological Expert’s Competence and Methodology

Steven Babitsky, Esq. How do trial attorneys attack psychologists and psychiatrists during cross-examination? They are being trained to concentrate on the expert’s competence and methodology. Attorney Renee Welze Livingston writes in the January 2020 issue of For the Defense: How Methodical Investigation Can Cast Doubt on a Psychological Expert’s Competence and Methodology. This revealing article makes many recommendations, including: Thoroughly

Expert Fee Arrangements Must be Disclosed

The U.S, District court S.D. Florida dealt with the issue of whether fee arrangements between an expert witness and counsel must be disclosed during discovery. The expert was a loss consultant and was provided with a 10% prelitigation fee for his services. The court ordered the production of the agreement and stated: First, the Court finds that the agreement at

The Biggest Mistakes Lawyers Make in Preparing Their Expert Witness for Deposition

Steven Babitsky, Esq. Introduction Many cases rise and fall based on how your expert witness does at their deposition. Here are some of the biggest mistakes lawyers make when preparing their expert witness. Failure to Ask the Expert Witness What They Are Concerned About Most expert witnesses, even the most experienced ones, have issues that they are worried about coming

The Pyramid Problem at Forensic Accounting Firms

Nadine Nasser Donovan, Esq. Steven Babitsky, Esq.   What is the pyramid problem? Many forensic accounting firms whose employees act as expert witnesses suffer from a serious “pyramid problem.” This is a term we at SEAK Inc. use to describe a company which has many accountants performing expert witness work, yet just a select few at the top of the

THE DANGERS OF LAST-MINUTE EXPERT WITNESS ASSIGNMENTS

By: Jessica Mahon Scoles, Esq. Counsel calls and tells an expert he has an interesting and potentially lucrative case. The catch? The expert needs to be designated almost immediately and her affidavit or report is due soon after. If the expert chooses to accept the case, she is faced with a series of difficult, if not impossible challenges. These may