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Article: Don't depose all medical defense experts.
- Article from:
- Trial
- Article date:
- June 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 American Association for Justice, formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA®). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Plaintiff attorneys in medical malpractice cases have traditionally favored deposing all defense experts. While this approach may seem reasonable if you expect to settle a case, in other instances it may be too risky.
Depositions give defense experts an opportunity to get comfortable with your questioning methods and the adversarial process of cross-examination. Once these experts know what questions you have lined up, they can find ways to subtly answer them differently at trial, minimizing the ground you gained in their depositions.
If a defense expert has an extensive background in providing expert testimony, avoid a face-to-face meeting. A ...