Why A Medical Malpractice Expert Witness Is Important For Your Case?

While all personal injury cases are complicated, medical malpractice cases are on a whole different level. Just compare a clear-cut slip and fall to a medical case, and you get the picture. 

Because the jury consists of ordinary people, they may need help understanding the nuances of the medical profession. This is why a plaintiff needs to hire a medical malpractice expert witness - an individual who can explain the complex medical terminology to the jury and the judge, thus aiding them in reaching a fair decision.

Here’s why a medical malpractice expert witness plays a crucial role in the success of your case.

Who Are Medical Expert Witnesses?

Medical malpractice expert witness is a professional with relevant experience and education that enables them to offer a professional opinion on the case. To put it differently, they can determine whether a medical professional violated the standards of care which directly led to the plaintiff’s injuries.

Typically, legal teams from both sides will consult their own expert witnesses, but it’s also possible for a medical malpractice expert witness to be a neutral expert in the case. This means they’re not testifying on behalf of either of the parties in the trial, rather, they are simply providing their opinion on what happened based strictly on the facts presented in the case. They’ll answer questions from both the defense and the plaintiff, then offer their professional opinion on the events.

Medical expert witnesses can help plaintiffs achieve victory in medical malpractice cases by providing insight if medical malpractice occurred, and they also significantly strengthen the cases.

As a matter of fact, they’re necessary for most circumstances as they’re the only ones who can prove negligence.

Do You Need A Medical Expert Witness For Each Case?

In most medical malpractice cases, there will be an expert witness. That is unless the case is clear-cut with overwhelming evidence that supports the plaintiff’s case. If a doctor's misconduct is obvious, a jury may not need an expert to gain insight into how the medical professional violated the standards of care.

For example, if a surgeon left a foreign object in their patient’s body or amputated the wrong limb, they have committed malpractice and no jury will dispute that.

Additionally, if no one other than the medical professionals can be responsible for causing the harm, the res ipsa loquitur rule comes into effect. This rule means that the causation is evident or when translated directly - the thing speaks for itself.

Can Everyone Be An Expert Witness?

A medical malpractice expert witness should have the qualifications relevant to the case. For example, if a plaintiff is suing a doctor for wrongful birth, the expert you hire should have expertise in that medical field so they can testify if prenatal testing was necessary.

On the other hand, if you’re involved in the case of medical billing or fraud, you have to hire a witness who is an expert in medical billing or coding, such as the experts working in our company - MBA.

Naturally, some expert witnesses specialize in other types of malpractice cases, such as:

1. Obstetricians

2. Radiation oncologists

3. Pediatric specialists

4. Emergency medical technicians

5. Emergency room physicians

As a rule of thumb, always hire someone who specializes in the area relevant to your circumstances.

How An Expert Helps You Prove Negligence

With their testimony, a medical malpractice expert witness can help the jury understand if medical malpractice occurred. 

They will explain exactly how a medical professional failed to meet the standards of care and how their mistakes led to the plaintiff’s injuries. Their testimony will provide the necessary context and will describe in detail the procedures and practices performed by another doctor from the same field. 

This helps illustrate how the defendant deviated from established norms.

For their testimony, the expert may rely on their own knowledge, but if needed, they can also quote industry standards and academic publications to strengthen their claims. 

When it comes to establishing causation, the expert has to address different factors that may have led to the plaintiff’s injuries. They can then explain that the evidence may suggest that negligence directly contributed to the injury or was the main cause.

Even if your client fails to identify a key detail, a medical malpractice expert witness can help spot any piece of information that might have fallen through the cracks. Who knows, this might be the crucial piece of evidence that wins the case.

For instance, a plaintiff might not be aware that their doctor should have performed a different procedure or didn’t order a test that’s standard practice in the situation. These are important facts that reveal that the doctor had the opportunity to avoid making a mistake but didn’t, for whatever reason.

Additionally, a medical malpractice expert witness can uncover different evidence of negligence such as failure to meet standards of care, any deviations from a standard protocol, or even breaches of informed consent.

Finding The Right Expert

If you determine that the case you’re working on requires expert testimony, you need to retain an expert before the case even goes to trial. In most states, you also need to consult an expert witness for an affidavit of merit that you’ll need before filing a legal complaint.

Normally, the defense will also retain its own expert. This means you and the opposing party need to disclose to the court what your expert will testify in the trial.

While not every expert witness is a practicing doctor (they can be certified in the field or be a professor), you should still hire someone who has spent some time practicing in the field.

In some states, there are procedural rules that allow experts to testify only if they recently spent some time actively practicing medicine. This helps ensure that doctors can’t make a career out of being expert witnesses.

Win Your Cases By Leveraging The Best Experts

Medical malpractice cases are intricate, so you should always have an expert on board. This also goes for situations where retaining someone seems redundant - who knows, maybe you overlooked a fact that will solidify your client’s case even further.

If your case involves a large number of medical bills, you should do yourself a favor and hire a medical expert witness that has a deep level of knowledge of CPT codes.

Contact MBA now by calling (800) 292-1919, and we can put together a comprehensive report, review all medical bills, and verify if they’re valid.