The Anatomy of a Lawsuit: Part 3

Abstract

Q How are expert witnesses used in a lawsuit?A Expert witnesses are an important component of a nursing malpractice lawsuit. Generally, parties involved in a malpractice lawsuit will utilize the deposition and trial testimony of an expert witness to help prove each side of the case. These expert witnesses are used to set a “standard of care” for the nurse on trial.An expert is a “hired gun” who testifies for either the plaintiff or defendant. Many times a malpractice lawsuit becomes a battle of the experts. The expert hired by either the plaintiff or defendant will testify as to the “duty” or“standard of care” of a nurse in the same or similar locality or under similar circumstances. In other words, a critical care nurse on trial will only have an expert testify for or against him or her who is also a critical care nurse in the same or similar work environment. It is important to have an expert who is as closely connected to the same situation as the nurse on trial and who understands the environment in which the alleged injury occurred.For an expert witness, it is not mandatory to have the benefit of counsel, because this witness normally has no direct connection to the case at hand and does not need the guidance of an attorney. The expert witness is testifying as a third party and only addresses a nurse’s duty or standard of care. He or she has no direct knowledge of the patient, the incident, or the parties involved in the lawsuit.Giving deposition testimony as an expert witness is the only time you should give deposition testimony without a lawyer. If you are a party to a lawsuit (either a plaintiff or defendant) or a witness with direct or indirect knowledge of the incident, a lawyer is an important asset when giving deposition testimony. A lawyer will then do the following:Nurses who are expert witnesses should be prepared to be asked questions that will determine their qualification as an expert. These questions will include degrees attained, experience in the area of nursing for which they will be testifying, and authoring of articles or books on the area of nursing at issue.As an expert witness, it is of utmost importance that you understand the facts and circumstances of the case. Only when you understand the facts and circumstances of the specific incident can you testify as to the duty or standard of care of the nurse on trial.The next Legal Counsel article will look at the different ways of resolving a lawsuit.