Dealing with Daubert

Choosing the wrong expert can devastate the most well-crafted case.

Will an expert withstand credentialing scrutiny, back their opinions with authoritative research, and have relevant experience?

Has the right specialty been chosen to provide an opinion?

Does the opinion comport with the majority of similar specialists?

I listen to what you need before locating experts with the right credentials, and the proper work experience within the years in question.  Before I present their names to you, their curriculum vitae, past testimony, and published articles are scrutinized.  My preference is to find two, preferably three, experts from which to choose.

After finding your expert, I am still in the background, communicating your needs to the expert, clarifying the issues to be addressed, and providing them an unbiased chronology to supplement their review of the entire medical record.  I often provide medical summaries of the facts, and help craft the expert’s Medical Questionnaire.

It’s the little things.

Those medical records that you hate are the most important part of any healthcare litigation.

Doing a chronology of office visits and test results is not difficult – almost anyone can do that.

The value of a chronology is often measured by what is missing, rather than what is provided.  I can pinpoint the time of deviation from expected recovery, or identify when care has departed from the usual course of treatment.

The most important information for any case is the medical record – is it complete or is data missing?

Nurses are the best reviewers of medical records, and unlike expert witnesses, it only takes one legal nurse to manage your case.

Do the records suggest pre-existing or co-existing  factors?

When you have to share.

Co-defendants mean co-counsel and shared data to be streamlined. Accomplish this with a timeline that will discern deviations from care, patterns of abuse or neglect, failure of responsible parties, and find any red flags.

My chronologies are highly modifiable.  All the data is in one place, but I can selectively produce the records for each named party.  My candid opinion column can be hidden so that my personal observations do not pollute an expert’s opinion, or reveal confidential, strategic information.

Think of me as the intersection between your legal practice and the medical aspects of your case.