Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The following blog entry is written to illustrate a common motion filed during civil litigation. Reviewing this kind of filing 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 birth and brain injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)
Here, Stefan Hall, M.D., is a pediatric neurologist. He has seen this child on three occasions and along the way has provided the child with recommendations for treatment and has reached a prognosis and opinions relative to future care needs of this child. Even outside of the forensic realm, pediatric neurologists always review outside tests done by physical therapists and speech therapists in an effort to more finitely define the specific delays and issues in those areas. There can be no question that these reports are quite specifically the type of reports and findings that pediatric neurologists always, even outside the realm of legal testimony, rely on in order to assist, prognose and make appropriate recommendations.
Sally Jackson is a registered nurse specializing in case management, rehabilitation and life care planning. Her entire profession is based upon review of outside physicians, physical and speech therapists. In her area of expertise inevitably and in every situation she relies upon the specific types of studies and testing performed by Dr. Hadley Smith and Ms. Cynthia Lee.
All of plaintiffs experts have indicated specifically that in part they relied upon these specific reports and the video in order to assist them in formulating their opinions.
Notwithstanding whether the reports themselves can be introduced into evidence, there can be no question based upon the above authority that plaintiffs experts can rely upon the findings and reports and make known their reliance upon same and the contents therein.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
THE DEFENSE HAS KNOWN ABOUT THESE REPORTS AND HAS RELIED ON THESE REPORTS OF PLAINTIFF’S EXPERTS FOR OVER ONE YEAR AND TWO MONTHS AND AS SUCH ARE NOT IN ANY WAY PREJUDICED
Stefan Hall, M.D. has been deposed on two separate occasions. The first time he was deposed was November 19, 2002. At that time, defense counsel inquired as to the basis upon which he formed his opinions. At that time, Dr. Gabriel stated that in part he relied upon reports from Hadley Smith, Ph.D. and Cynthia Lee from ABC Pediatric. Defense counsel inquired how these reports assisted him in formulating his opinion. More importantly, these original reports were provided to defense counsel at the time of the deposition. These reports were thereafter made available to their own experts and each and every one of defendant’s experts has had an opportunity to review and in most cases, rely upon these reports. The trial was thereafter continued.
Plaintiff’s counsel made Dr. Gabriel available for a second deposition in light of the significant time that had transpired since the initial trial date. The second deposition took place on October 15, 2003. Again, additional testing had been performed by Hadley Smith and Cynthia Lee. These reports were made available to defense counsel on October 15, 2003. These reports were thereafter made available to defense experts by defense counsel. At the depositions of all defense experts, it was acknowledged that they had reviewed these reports and had utilized that in their opinions. (See Part 5 of 5.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.