Our Blog

Expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases

Possibly the number one challenge in medical malpractice cases is finding qualified expert witnesses to testify on behalf of the patient and against a colleague. Virginia law requires the plaintiff to have an expert certify that a medical malpractice lawsuit has merit before the case is served. I wrote an article about that law which can be found in the library on this website. Most doctors are uncomfortable and unwilling to testify against a local colleague. Finding good expert witnesses requires creativity and tenacity. There are many experts who advertise their services, but I usually avoid them because they appear to be hired guns. I want my experts to be objective. Here is how locate qualified experts. I start looking for experts even before I open the case. At Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C. we are constantly updating our database of qualified experts based on what we learn from other lawyers, law journals, and medical journals. The authors of medical papers are often the leading experts. If they are unwilling to testify I will ask for their recommendations. Legal newspapers identify experts who have testified in the past on particular subjects. The process can go in any number of directions, but I must stress the most important thing is to be creative and persistent. Tom Williamson has written a great article on finding expert witnesses that has been accepted for publication in the VTLA Journal. Please return to our website in the coming weeks to read his article.