By James J. Mangraviti, Jr. Esq. An expert witness must be qualified to give all the opinions which the expert proposes to give in a particular case. That begs the question of who decides if an expert witness is qualified. There are actually many people who decide if an expert witness is qualified in a [...]
By James J. Mangraviti, Jr. Esq. I have had the honor and pleasure of teaching, training, and preparing expert witnesses since 1996. Over the years, I have seen expert witnesses repeatedly make the same mistakes when providing their expert witness testimony. These mistakes when providing expert witness testimony are typically 100% avoidable. The three most [...]
Introduction: Expert Witness Disclosures Persons who serve as expert witnesses are often asked to provide, or help to provide, an expert witness disclosure. In this post we will explain the purpose and required elements of an expert witness disclosure. I will also provide suggestions for experts in preparing an expert witness disclosure. What is [...]
As an attorney who trains expert witnesses I am often asked to explain or define what is an expert witness. The short answer is that an expert witness is a special kind of witness in a court case who is allowed to testify as to their opinions. In some states expert witnesses are actually [...]
What is the Definition of an Expert Witness? The Legal Requirements to Qualify As an Expert Witness Federal Rule of Evidence 702 governs the qualifications of expert witnesses. Fed. R. Evid. 702. Expert Witness Testimony Expert Witness Definition If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to [...]
What is the Expert Witness Code of Conduct? Expert witnesses need a full understanding of the moral, legal, and financial reasons for acting in an ethical manner. Violating the expert witness code of conduct can be and, in many cases, will be subject to a variety of sanctions including prosecution for perjury, civil suits, monetary [...]
By Kelly Wilbur, Esq. One of the main components of expert witness assignments, when a plaintiff’s medical condition or status is involved, is reviewing medical records. This often begs the question, does HIPPA permit the disclosure of such records so the records may be reviewed by the expert witness? The short answer is YES. The Health [...]
By Kelly J. Wilbur, Esq. Expert witnesses may be retained to assist in the certification process for a class action lawsuit. These assignments are typically extremely lucrative. The lawyers will usually be willing to pay for top quality work-which takes time. Such assignments are also extremely high stakes. Whether or not a class can be [...]
By Kelly Wilbur, Esq. How many expert witnesses will attorneys contact at a time for a new assignment and what does that mean for expert witness business development? For attorneys using SEAK’s Expert Witness Directory the mode is 1 expert witness, the median is 1 expert witness and the average is 1.22 expert witnesses. What this [...]
By Kelly Wilbur, Esq. Physicians are often called upon to evaluate the conduct of physician’s assistants (PA) and whether such conduct comports with the PA standard of care. Whether the physician will be permitted to offer an opinion in this regard, varies by state and by the context of the situation involved in the case. [...]