Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Methodist, or Sutter.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)
EXPERT WITNESSES SHOULD BE PRECLUDED FROM TESTIFYING TO ANY OPINIONS NOT EXPRESSED IN THEIR DEPOSITIONS
Code of Civil Procedure § 2034.210 et. seq. provides for the designation of expert witnesses, as well as the discovery of their opinions or conclusions. Section 2034.260 (c)(4) requires that the designated expert be sufficiently familiar with the pending action to submit to a meaningful oral deposition … including any opinion and its bases, that the expert be expected to give at trial. The expert opinion of a witness who was not designated as an expert shall, upon objection of the party that fully complied with the requirement of § 2034.210 et seq., be excluded from evidence at trial (Code of Civil Procedure § 2034.300.)
The importance of pre-trial discovery of an expert’s opinions and conclusions, which the expert intends to express at trial, was discussed in the matter Kennemur v. Slate of California (1982) 133 Cal.App.3rd 907, where the appellate court held that the trial court had properly excluded the testimony of an expert witness who, at his deposition testified that he was not going to express an opinion at trial regarding the issue of causation. The court noted that:
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
The legislature has singled out the pre-trial discovery expert opinions for special treatment. When appropriate demand is made for exchange of expert witnesses, the party is required to disclose not only the name, address, and qualifications of the witness but the general substance of the testimony the witness is expected to give at trial. In our view, this means the party must disclose either in his witness exchange list or at his expert’s deposition, the substance of the facts and the opinions which the expert will testify to at trial. Only by such a disclosure will the opposing party have reasonable notice of the specific areas of investigation by the expert, the opinions he has reached and the reasons supporting the opinions, to the end the opposing party can prepare for cross-examination and rebuttal of the expert’s testimony. (Id. at 919.) (See Part 3 of 6.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.