Nursing expert was qualified to testify on risk management procedures and quality control in hospitals, but not qualified to testify on issues regarding nephrology or dialysis.
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Nursing Expert Witness’s Testimony Limited
Insurance Expert Witness On Excess Of Loss Coverage Part 1
What areas may insurance expert witnesses consult on? They may write reports, give deposition and testify on insurance regulations, insurance fraud, reinsurance, and more. In Excess Of Loss Coverage For Self Insurers: Is It Insurance Or Reinsurance?, attorney, mediator, and insurance expert witness Robert M. Hall writes:
I. Introduction
Self-insurance entities often purchase excess of loss coverage from conventional insurers and reinsurers in order to meet the solvency standards of the self-insurers’ supervising authorities. Often it is unclear whether this capacity must take the form of excess insurance or may take the form of reinsurance. The companies that provide this coverage sometimes structure it as reinsurance in order to be free of market conduct and rate and form regulation as well as premium taxes, guaranty fund assessments and other charges involved in direct insurance. However, the manner in which the coverage is styled may not be determinative when problems arise. The purpose of this article is to present selected case law as to whether this insurance or reinsurance is treated in several different self-insurance contexts.
The Care and Feeding of Expert Witnesses Part 2
In The Care and Feeding of Expert Witnesses, John T. Bogart offers advice from the viewpoint of a reinsurance expert witness. Mr. Bogart has more than 34 years of insurance industry experience, ranging from liability underwriting to being the president and chief executive officer of a nationally recognized excess and surplus lines brokerage operation. He currently acts as an associate consultant with Robert Hughes Associates and has recently been involved in projects concerning reinsurance matters.
When I was asked to review material and provide an opinion on an insurance case for the first time, I had little idea what to expect or, for that matter, what was expected of me. In the five years since, I’ve read numerous articles and legal decisions on what and how experts may testify but have seen nothing directed to attorneys on how best to utilize this legal tool. What follows is a general sketch of advice, from the viewpoint of an expert witness and consultant, that attorneys may find of some interest….
3. Documents Sent Since at deposition he will need to provide a list of all materials that he used and that helped in forming his opinion, you may wish to cover the waterfront and send him everything. When boxes and boxes of materials arrive, he may very well be overwhelmed. Give him some guidance by prioritizing it. I always start with the complaint and get down pat the cast of characters in the case, both individuals and entities. Discuss the allegations of who did what to whom, and when, and guide him to the pertinent documentation on both sides. He needs to understand your opponent’s contentions and the bases for them if he is to defend his own and, hopefully, yours. Make sure the deposition transcripts have the exhibits attached or that your expert knows where to locate them. I’ve run up needless billable hours searching for documents mentioned in deposition transcripts, but not among those sent to me. Discuss with him the reading materials that he has obtained on his own and ask to see them, if practicable. Make sure that he understands the rules of discovery before allowing him to seek advice from his own sources, people or documents. These sources may be invaluable but should first have your approval.
Finding And Researching Experts and Their Testimony Part 1
In Finding and Researching Experts and Their Testimony, authors Jim Robinson David Dilenschneider, Myles Levin, and Nathan Aaron Rosen write:
Several of us got into some discussions about the need to research experts thoroughly. During those discussions, we exchanged our knowledge of not only the resources to search but also effective strategies on how to use the information found. In the end, we realized that none of us was aware of a truly-comprehensive resource that detailed all the various ways to learn about experts. Accordingly, in the spring of 2007, we wrote the First Edition of this White Paper.
In February 2009, we updated the paper to highlight new resources that had emerged (as well as delete references to older, non-functioning sites), acknowledge new applications and strategies, and relate more failures to vet experts thoroughly.
Cardiology Expert Witness On Essentials For Attorneys
In Interventional Cardiology Expert Witnesses: Essentials for Attorneys, Dr. Burton Bentley writes that “given the widespread prevalence of heart disease in the US population, issues related to cardiology occur in countless medical negligence cases. Consequently, in the realm of medical expert witnesses, the Interventional Cardiology expert witness is King.”
Interventional Cardiology is a subspecialty of cardiology relying upon highly specialized cardiac procedures to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease. Cardiologists who employ these techniques to intervene in the course of coronary artery disease are known as Interventional Cardiologists. Since Interventional Cardiologists have expertise in both the diagnosis and interventional treatment of cardiac disease, issues addressed by Interventional Cardiology expert witnesses may focus on standard of care, breach, and/or harm. Interventional Cardiology experts also opine upon standard practices involving billing, compliance, resource utilization, and observation v. admission status.
Standards of care relate to the principles, practice, and procedures of Interventional Cardiology. The most frequent Interventional Cardiology procedure is angioplasty, also known as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, or PCI. During PCI, an Interventional Cardiologist inserts a catheter into an artery and then threads the catheter to the level of the heart. The target artery is one or more coronary arteries perfusing the heart. The Interventional Cardiologist monitors the location of the catheter by injecting dye and viewing real-time images during the procedure. When a coronary artery is determined to have significant narrowing due to atherosclerosis (plaque), the Interventional Cardiologist will perform an “angioplasty”, literally reshaping the interior of the blood vessel. The angioplasty catheter uses a tiny balloon to press plaque against the luminal walls of the artery, effectively opening the internal diameter and improving blood flow. In 70% of angioplasty procedures, the Interventional Cardiologist will also deploy a stent. Stents are tiny metal tubes that remain in place to permanently reinforce the artery wall.
Pharmacology Expert Witness & Cephalon Case
The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement resolving the antitrust suit charging Cephalon, Inc. with illegally blocking generic competition to its sleep disorder drug Provigil. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. will make a total of $1.2B available to compensate purchasers, including drug wholesalers, pharmacies, and insurers, who overpaid because of Cephalon’s illegal conduct. The FTC’s pharmaceutical expert witness had previously estimated that the amount could be anywhere between $3.5B and $5.6B.
As part of the settlement, Teva also has agreed to a prohibition on the type of anticompetitive patent settlements that Cephalon used to artificially inflate the price of Provigil. Teva is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world, and this prohibition applies to all of its U.S. operations.
The May 28th FTC.com press release states:
The Care and Feeding of Expert Witnesses Part 1
In The Care and Feeding of Expert Witnesses, John T. Bogart offers advice from the viewpoint of a reinsurance expert witness. Mr. Bogart has more than 34 years of insurance industry experience, ranging from liability underwriting to being the president and chief executive officer of a nationally recognized excess and surplus lines brokerage operation. He currently acts as an associate consultant with Robert Hughes Associates and has recently been involved in projects concerning reinsurance matters.
When I was asked to review material and provide an opinion on an insurance case for the first time, I had little idea what to expect or, for that matter, what was expected of me. In the five years since, I’ve read numerous articles and legal decisions on what and how experts may testify but have seen nothing directed to attorneys on how best to utilize this legal tool. What follows is a general sketch of advice, from the viewpoint of an expert witness and consultant, that attorneys may find of some interest.
1. Selection Process Start your search early. I’m always amazed when I receive frantic phone calls from attorneys saying they must designate an expert that day or the next day. Allow time to find an expert, to connect, (considering the usual telephone tag delays), to chat, and to get a feeling for the chemistry between you, and to briefly discuss your case. Ask the potential expert’s experience in the course of his career with matters germane to your case, and ask whether he has ever testified on anything similar. Get his general feelings about your case while keeping in mind that he now has only a thumbnail sketch of the issues involved. Tell him up front your time constraints, if and when a written report is required, and the dates of trial and probable deposition. Make sure he has the time to devote to your case. You don’t want him “squeezing you in” between other pressing cases. Discuss fees and retainers. Ask him to fax you his most recent CV and a list of prior testimony, along with the names and firms of attorneys who have retained him. Check him out. If he’s smart, he’ll probably be looking you up in Martindale-Hubbell within minutes of getting off the phone. If not time- and expense-prohibitive, arrange a meeting either at your office or his. If he is going to come to you, make it clear that you will pay for his time and expenses. There may be experts who are willing to give up a day or more to meet with you for free, but they are not going to be the ones whose time is very valuable and thus probably not the ones you want. I’ve had attorneys who expected me to crisscross the country for an interview with no more compensation than an airline seat. I politely but firmly terminated those inquiries. The first hour of this expert’s time is usually free. After that the meter runs, as it does with lawyers.
Keeping Internet Searches to Yourself
In Keeping Internet Searches to Yourself, internet guru, attorney and law librarian
Carole Levitt writes:
For those who are more and more concerned with privacy when researching on the Internet, here’s one of my ABA TECHSHOW tips: Consider using DuckDuckGo.com. It enhances users’ privacy by not storing your search history, IP addresses or user agents, and not passing along your search words to the site you visit when you click on a link in the results list. But, what if you love using all of Google’s advanced search features/instructions (or Bing’s or Yahoo’s)? Well, you can still use them and protect your privacy if you precede your search with what DuckDuckGo calls a “bang,” which is an exclamation point and the first letter of the search engine where you want DuckDuckGo to submit your search. For example, to submit your search to Google and limit your results only to PDFs that have the name “carole levitt” as a phrase, your search would look like this:
Medical Malpractice Expert Witness On The Malpractice Case
In How To Select A Medical Expert Witness: Mission-Critical Steps for Success, medical malpractice expert witness Dr. Burton Bentley writes:
The expert witness is the foundation of any medical malpractice case. From analyzing the elements of negligence to testifying at deposition and trial, your strategic success depends upon competent medical insight. Given the pivotal role played by medical expert witnesses, it is surprising how often the search for an expert is left to chance. Choose incorrectly and you’ve made a common and costly mistake that may prove fatal to your case. Secure the right expert, however, and you’ll build a solid strategy and partnership from the outset. Rather than leaving the decision to chance, the following steps will immediately improve your chance of success:
Assure Board Certification
Asbestos Expert Witnesses & ExxonMobil Case
A Northern District of Illinois jury ruled in favor of defendants ExxonMobil and Owens-Illinois and against plaintiff Charles Krik. The retired pipefitter claimed his lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos from the 1970 to the 1990s while working in refineries in Illinois and Indiana where asbestos was present. However, the jury ruled that the plaintiff’s asbestos expert witnesses, Dr. Arthur Frank, Dr. Arnold Brody and Frank Parker, needed to offer more specific testimony pertaining to Krik’s potential exposure to asbestos, rather than the effects of asbestos exposure in general. They also found that his cigarette smoking was the “sole proximate cause” of his lung cancer.
In CHARLES KRIK v. CRANE CO.; EXXONMOBIL OIL CORPORATION; OWENS-ILLINOIS,INC.; and THE MARLEY WYLAIN COMPANY, Case No. 10-cv-7435 Judge John Z. Lee writes:
Krik nevertheless asserts that because the precise exposure to asbestos cannot be calculated, even de minimis exposure satisfies the substantial contributing factor test. The Court disagrees. As the MDL court explained in its opinion denying Crane’s summary judgment motion, under maritime law, “[a] mere ‘minimal exposure’ to a defendant’s product is insufficient to establish causation.