If you believe that you have been a victim of medical malpractice or negligence on the part of a healthcare professional, you will need to file a claim against that doctor. Part of proving your case will involve the testimony of a medical malpractice expert. You do not want to have just anyone get up and be your expert witness, so you will want to know what qualifies the individual to speak as an expert and how you can best utilize their experience.
More on the Medical Malpractice Expert
When choosing a medical malpractice expert you will want to look for the very best individual to support your case, not just any case. In order for any one person to be considered an expert in the eyes of the court they need to:
- Hold a current, valid, and unrestricted medical license in the state where they practice
- Must be certified by the relevant board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties
- Be actively engaged in clinical practice that they are testifying about
- Be able to provide educational testimony about any procedures, treatments, etc associated with the case
An expert medical malpractice expert is usually most helpful if they have testified in a court setting in the past. This will allow the expert to come across as very knowledgeable and as professional as possible, though past experience in the courtroom is not necessary. The expert medical malpractice expert must also know about the standards of care and know how to identify whether the standard of care has been breached in your particular case. It is advisable to choose a medical malpractice expert who is able to “dumb down” his or her testimony. What this means is that it is important for you to choose an expert who can take what he or she knows and translate it into language that the average juror would understand. If the expert cannot do this, it will be difficult for the testimony of the expert to make any impact on a judgment in your favor.
The best thing you can do is to get hooked up with a high quality lawyer, as they can often furnish their own medical malpractice expert, which is nice because it takes the pressure off of you to find someone who can testify on your behalf. Having a good medical malpractice expert is of utmost importance in every case, so make sure that you have the very best expert possible working for you.
