Medical Society Statements on Expert Witness Testimony

Our law firm compiled these statements from medical societies on expert witness testimony to acquaint practicing trial lawyers with what the governing bodies of various medical specialties say about how experts should behave when testifying. Trial lawyers may find these statements useful to:

• Prepare your own expert witness to testify.
• Cross-examine adverse experts who appear to violate any of the provisions of these guidelines.
• Prepare motions to limit or strike expert testimony.

We make no endorsement for or against any of these statements from medical societies. Some of them are written in ostensibly even-handed language but have been used to intimidate honest expert witnesses who have given testimony adverse to a member of a particular professional society. Whatever the motive behind any set of guidelines, they all deserve careful scrutiny by any lawyer examining or cross-examining a medical expert witness at trial.

For a discussion of some of the issues and case law about medical society “peer review” programs concerning expert testimony, see generally: B. Sonny Bal, “The Expert Witness in Medical Malpractice Litigation,” Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, February 2009.