By Steven Babitsky, Esq. The 7 deadly sins, which can help ruin or destroy an expert witness’s career are: 1. Greed 2. Sloth 3. Wrath 4. Pride 5. Arrogance 6. Envy 7. Gluttony • Experts do not intentionally fall prey to these sins but often succumb gradually on a slippery slope. • Experts are well-advised… read more
When physicians conclude that a car accident victim needs radiofrequency ablations (RFAs) for life, the court may intervene to limit this testimony. The US District Court (E.D. Louisiana) dealt with physicians who opined that the plaintiff would need RFAs for the remainder of his life. The life care planner relied on this opinion to formulate… read more
By Stephen Broomes MD Introduction Diagnostic errors are a failure to provide an accurate and timely explanation of the patient’s health problems or communicate that explanation to the patient (World Health Organization). Scope of the problem: Diagnostic errors affect an estimated 12 million Americans, and likely cause more harm to patients than all other medical… read more
How far can an attorney go in attacking and trying to discredit an expert witness? The U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Cir dealt with an attorney who in, in a used car dispute: …went after the plaintiff’s expert witness, Donald Szczesniak. Brodsky accused Szczesniak of fabricating expert reports in this and other cases, and he… read more
By: Stephen S. Saris, MD What is Trigeminal Neuralgia? Trigeminal Neuralgia is a pain condition which is typically caused by pressure on the brain nerve (cranial nerve) that gives feeling to the side of the face. Signals travelling through this trigeminal nerve cause debilitating and life-altering shock-like facial pain that lasts from seconds to hours…. read more
By: John A. Filip, MD There are more than 6 million auto accidents each year in the United States with 3 million people inured and 2 million experiencing permanent injuries. Undiagnosed myocardial contusion injuries (MCI) in the emergency department after blunt thoracic trauma (BTT) in MVAs is a serious and life threatening situation. Myocardial Contusion… read more
James R. Kopp, M.D. EVIDENCE BASED EXPERT OPINIONS Evidence based medicine is grounded on the principle that physicians should utilize the information available in the literature to assist with treating patients and forming their expert opinions. “Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is regarded as a new paradigm in medical practice, equal in enormity to the human genome… read more
Introduction: The incidence of viewing child pornography is increasing in both women and men. Under federal statute U.S.C sections 2251-226 the peoduction, distribution, reception, and possession of child pornography is a violation of federal law with penalties of 15-30 years in prison. Criminal Penalties When faced with a charge of producing or possession of child… read more
Case Report: J.B. was a 21 year old male with longstanding Type 1 diabetes in poor control. His blood sugars ranged from 30 to 500 throughout the week (normal 70-110), and he was not routinely checking his blood sugars multiple times daily. J.B. typically suffered from several hypoglycemic episodes each week (defined as low blood… read more
What happens when a Contact Lens Expert Witness fails to reveal his testing methodology in his report and reveals it for the first time during cross-examination at trial? The court, in REMBRANDT VISION TECHNOLOGIES v. Johnson & Johnson, 725 F. 3d 1377 – Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit 2013 dealt with a patient infringement claim…. read more
