Competency of Medical Expert Witnesses: Standards and Qualifications
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Authors
Arntz, Rickee N.
Issue Date
1991
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Because of the highly technical aspects of the practice of medicine, expert testimony has often been held necessary in medical malpractice actions to determine the appropriate standard of medical care and whether a breach of that standard has occurred. Medical expert witnesses are the most commonly used trial experts, and their testimony is used in two scenarios: (1) in personal injury cases to define injuries and causes of the injuries; and (2) in malpractice cases to define the standard of care required of the defendant physician and to give an opinion as to whether that standard was breached. |In 1989, the Florida District Court of Appeal held in Brown v. Sims, that a neurosurgeon was competent to give expert testimony regarding a gynecologist's standard of presurgical care. Although Florida statutes specify the qualifications required of an expert witness in a medical malpractice action, trial courts are given wide latitude in deciding whether to allow a general practitioner or a specialist from another field to testify against the defendant specialist...
Description
Citation
24 Creighton L. Rev. 1359 (1990-1991)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law