What Jurors Probably Don't Know About Defense Medical Experts
Attorney
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When a Plaintiff is injured due to the negligence of another, the Plaintiff must rely on her doctors to testify as to the nature and extent of her injuries. In most states, like Ohio, the attorney for the Defendant/insurance company is then allowed to hire a doctor to examine the Plaintiff and render an opinion on the nature and extent of the Plaintiff's injuries. In the Cincinnati area, my clients are repeatedly sent to the same few doctors to be examined. It is extremely rare that one of these doctors will agree with the Plaintiff's treating physicians regarding the extent of the Plaintiff's injuries.
To the typical juror, the defense medical experts may seem to be on equal footing as the Plaintiff's treating physicians. The attorney for the Plaintiff can do her best to show how much the defense medical expert is being paid for his time and how much that equals out to per year. But, it seems to have little effect on jurors. The defense attorneys often argue: Why would this doctor risk his medical reputation by sticking his neck out for me or my firm in this case?
What the jurors do not know is that if the defense medical doctors start agreeing with the Plaintiff's doctors, the attorney for Allstate or State Farm will not be as inclined hire them to do defense medical exams. Lose one insurance company and that could equal hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in lost income.
Although this article written for doctors about serving as an expert witness in cases was written in 2003, the information remains relevant. It emphasizes the high ethical obligations of medical expert witnesses, both for the Plaintiffs and the Defendants. It points out that one of the main problems in the legal system in regards to expert testimony is the lack of accountability for statements made by expert witnesses under oath. The article suggests peer review of expert witness testimony to ensure that it is medically sound. Another suggestion is to have court appointed defense medical examiners.