Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The following blog entry is written to illustrate a common motion filed during the pre-trial stage of civil litigation. 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 also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this brain injury case and its proceedings.)
PLAINTIFF’S SUPPLEMENTAL DESIGNATION OF PAUL BROWN, M.D., IS PROPER BECAUSE IT IS TIMELY AND REASONABLY RELATED TO THE SUBJECTS TO BE COVERED BY DEFENSE MEDICAL EXPERTS HALL, M.D. AND JONES, M.D.
Defendants do not dispute that plaintiff’s supplemental designation of Dr. Brown was timely served. Defendants complaint that plaintiff had retained Dr. Brown prior to the date of the scheduled exchange of expert information is unavailing. California pre-trial procedural law recognizes that a party may retain a consulting expert and not have to designate him at all, if the party does not intend the expert to testify at trial. When the party decides to call the expert, he must comply with the pre-trial discovery procedures of the code. Code of Civil Procedure § 2034.230(a) (refers to “Expert trial witnesses”); Kennemur v. State of California (1982) 133 Cal. App. 3rd 907, 916. Plaintiff has clearly complied with the procedural requirements of the code. For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
Plaintiff’s initial designation of experts did not include a medical doctor, or a certified member of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Based upon the defendants designation of Dr. Hall and Dr. Jones, who are both medical doctors, plaintiff served his supplemental designation of experts to include a medical doctor and member of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Paul Brown, M.D.
The declaration accompanying plaintiff’s supplemental designation of Dr. Brown states in relevant part:
Paul Brown, M.D. has agreed to testify at the trial of this case. Dr. Brown is a medical doctor and is board certified in neurology and psychiatry. (A true and correct copy of Dr. Brown’s [CV] is attached.) (See Part 4 of 5.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.