Credibility is critical to the success of an expert witness. You should be able to rely on your expert for honesty, and a case that is articulately and assertively presented. There are many factors to consider when engaging an expert and to make sure that the opinion you receive is objective and will stand up to cross-examination.
Juries are required to sift through vast amounts of information. The reliance on an expert witness to assist in understanding the facts is crucial and appearance of bias can negate an expert’s testimony with the jury. Saponaro, Inc., employs several safeguards against unreliable and unethical expert witness testimony with the following guidelines:
It can happen even if you are treated by the most skilled physician at best hospital the state has to offer. Leaving lasting scars, disabilities, a lifetime of pain or even death, medical malpractice can destroy a patient’s life. It is little wonder why tragic mistakes lead to serious lawsuits.
Here are recent medical malpractice cases that have resulted in large settlements: (more…)
The Choice of Experts for Certificate or Affidavit of Merit
The expert that will review your case for merit will be matched to the specific board-certification of the defendant, or will match the certification of the licensed healthcare professional in question. The expert will be actively practicing or actively working in an academic capacity, and will meet your State requirements in qualifying as an expert witness. The expert will be checked for any potential conflicts, since they have agreed to support their opinion through deposition and/or trial, if warranted.
Medical errors happen every day. They occur in alarming numbers and are extremely costly. Some areas of inpatient and outpatient healthcare are particularly unsafe, such as pediatrics, surgery centers, emergency rooms, hospice care, intensive care units (ICUs), lower-volume hospitals, nursing homes/rehabilitation facilities, and more.
The average person may think because medical errors happen so frequently, that medical malpractice lawsuits are abundant and that these cases are clogging up the courts. But these are just two in a long list of medical malpractice myths that need to be cleared up.
Product recalls happen as a result of consumer safety concerns not originally detected when the product was released, or because of an undetected malfunction that requires repair. But injuries or even death can occur when a product is recalled off the market too late.
Even if a product is for sale and being purchased by thousands or millions of consumers, it’s not necessarily safe. It could be a best-seller for a manufacturer, resulting in millions of dollars in profits, but it may not be safe.
Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper Deaths & Injuries
As an attorney, your expertise is in pursuing and winning legal cases, whether it’s medical malpractice, personal injury, or others. That’s why when cases involve a medical component, you need medical experts to assist you with building a winning case.
Nurse consultants guide attorneys through all the medical aspects of their case. This service, also known as concierge nursing, utilizes practicing nurses and/or nurse practitioners as expert witnesses in legal cases.
How do you know if your case could benefit from the help of a nurse consultant? Or should you turn to another type of expert? Let’s examine the ways a nurse consultant can help.
A nurse consultant can organize and interpret medical records and charts.
Misdiagnosis is more common than many people think, especially among pediatric patients. In a study that examined over 1,200 pediatric medical malpractice claims, the most common patient assessment issue was “failure to appreciate and reconcile relevant signs, symptoms and test results.”
The providers in the study failed to see the bigger clinical picture by looking at all available information (such as patient history, reported symptoms, a physical exam, and test results) to properly diagnose the patient.
The third most-common cardiovascular health threat is venous thromboembolism (VTE), or a blood clot in the leg that travels to the lungs. When diagnosed, it can be treated with surgical thrombectomy. But sometimes doctors don’t diagnose it in time to treat it with thrombectomy.
According to WorldThrombosisDay.org, “blood clots in the leg and lungs are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide, many of which could be avoided with proper diagnosis and treatment.”
Most VTE fatalities happen from a failure to diagnose, rather than a failure to treat it. When diagnosed in a sufficient amount of time, surgical thrombectomy is an adequate treatment to prevent long-term injury and death.
When a person is admitted into the hospital, they put their lives in the hands of medical professionals. Each of us trusts that the doctors, nurses, medical assistants, radiology technicians, and any other medical staff have our best interests at heart. But these professionals make mistakes.
Patients turn to physicians for proper diagnosis and treatment. They put their trust in medical staff to take the right steps, run the right tests, and make the right diagnosis. When a doctor fails to diagnose a condition it can lead to permanent damage and sometimes death.
