Fees

How Much Can a Physician Expert Witness Charge?

A discussion of how much a physician expert witness can charge for their time including reviewing files, report-writing, and testifying.

By: James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. Introduction For most physicians in practice, how much they can charge for their services is often determined by reimbursement rates set by the government or insurance companies.  Expert witness work is, by stark contrast, a free market with no artificially set rates.  A question I am often asked is therefore: How much can a

A Physician Expert Witness Earns $500-$1000/hour

A discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of serving as a physician expert witness and how your time is compensated.

© 2022 SEAK, Inc. By: James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. Introduction Serving as a physician expert witness can be a rewarding way to apply your medical knowledge and experience, improve your communication skills, make yourself a better clinician for your patients and significantly supplement your clinical income.  Most of the work consists of chart review, research, opinion forming and report

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

Reasonable Expert Witness Fees: Court Reduces Expert’s Deposition Preparation Fees

How will the courts determine reasonable fees for expert witness preparation time for a deposition? The United States District Court for the District of Colorado recently spoke on the issue in Sterisil, Inc. v. Proedge Dental Products, Inc., civil action no. 13-cv-01210-REB (U.S. Dist. Ct. D. Colo. Mar. 29, 2019), a patent infringement case. The defendant challenged the reasonableness of

What do Courts Consider to be a Reasonable Expert Witness Fee/Rate for an Actuarial Expert Witness?

In this case, plaintiffs requested expert witness fees for an actuarial witness. Cohen v. Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer, No. 2:16-cv-11484, 2017 WL 3616485 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 23, 2017). The court was inquired to determine whether the fees requested for the expert’s services were reasonable. Id. The court described the fee requested as “eye popping” and established an appropriate rate for an

What do Courts Consider to be a Reasonable Expert Witness Fee/Rate for a Psychologist and/or Physiatrist Expert Witness?

This case involved a dispute over the appropriate rates for plaintiff’s expert psychologist and physiatrist. O’Neal v. Century Insurance Company, No. 13-00058 ACK-RLP, 2015 WL 12697660 (D. Haw. Aug. 31, 2015). Both witnesses requested an hourly rate of $1,000, and the defendant argued that rate was unreasonable. Id. In this case, the court provided seven factors that should be used

What do Courts Consider to be a Reasonable Expert Witness Fee/Rate for a Photography Expert Witness?

This case involved a motion by the plaintiff requesting that the defendant pay fees associated with the plaintiff’s photography expert witness. Stevens v. Corelogic, Inc., No. 14-cv-1158, 2016 WL 8729928 (S.D. Cal. May 6, 2016). The defendant responded by requesting the court only require the defendant to reimburse the expert for time spent travelling to and participating in his deposition,

What do Courts Consider to be a Reasonable Expert Witness Fee/Rate for an Applied Statistics Expert Witness?

This case involves a motion by the defendant to “set a reasonable expert witness fee” for plaintiff’s applied statistics expert witness. Brunarski v. Miami University, No. 1:16-cv-311, 2017 WL 713691 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 23, 2017). The plaintiff’s expert is a Professor at the University of California who has attained his PhD in Earth Science and has additional degrees in Statistics.

What do Courts Consider to be a Reasonable Expert Witness Fee/Rate for a Geodemographic Expert Witness and a Political Science Expert Witness?

In this case, the plaintiff was seeking expert witness fees in the amounts of $5,400 for a Geodemographic Consultant and $27,413.42 for an Associate Political Science Professor from the University of Michigan. Raleigh Wake Citizens Ass’n. v. Wake Cty. Bd. of Elections, No. 5:13-CV-607-D, 2017 WL 4400754 (E.D.N.C. Sept. 29, 2017). The court was charged with finding whether these fees

$1,500 Per Hour Expert Witness in Badass Case

The United States District Court, D. Nevada. In the case of SCOTT L. WALKER, JR., Plaintiff, v. SPIKE’S TACTICAL, LLC, et. al., Defendants. Case No. 2:13-cv-01923-RFB-PAL dealt with the issue of how much of a fee is reasonable for a neurologist expert witness. The case arose out of an injury during the use of a flair launcher manufactured by Defendant