The following blog entry is written from a defendant’s position as trial approaches. Reviewing this kind of briefing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this medical malpractice case and its proceedings.)
It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco General, California Pacific Medical Center, or St. Francis Memorial Hospital.
Further, in the case Cottle v. the Superior Court of Ventura County (1992) 3 Cal.App.4th 1367, the Court of Appeal denied the plaintiff’s petition for a writ of mandate seeking review of the order of the trial court which required plaintiff to produce evidence establishing a prima facie claim for personal injury. Accordingly, the plaintiffs in Cottle were required to show that they could sustain a prima facie case against defendants prior to the start of trial. For more information you are welcome to contact San Francisco personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
In this matter, Defendants contend that Plaintiff is unable to sustain her cause of action against Defendants because Plaintiff lacks the required standard of care expert to prove her case of professional negligence. Accordingly, should the Court be disinclined to grant Defendants’ motion to preclude standard of care testimony by Dr. Strong, Defendants respectfully request that a Cottle hearing or a 402 hearing be held to determine the qualification of Dr. Strong or Plaintiff’s ability to sustain her case against Defendants, prior to jury empaneling in this matter.
CONCLUSION
For all the foregoing reasons, Defendants respectfully request that the Court grant this motion and preclude Plaintiff’s expert, Steven Strong, M.D., from testifying at trial concerning the issues of the standard of care applicable to Defendants, or in the alternative, that the Court conduct a Cottle hearing or Evidence Code section 402 hearing to determine if Dr. Strong is qualified to render expert opinions on the standard of care applicable to Defendants, and whether Plaintiff can maintain a prima facie case against Defendants in this matter.
For more information you are welcome to contact San Francisco personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.