title: The expert witness in medical malpractice litigation: through the looking glass.
abstract: Neurologists have professional, ethical, and social obligations to ensure that expert witness testimony is reliable, objective, and truthful. In the past, an absence of professional regulatory oversight combined with immunity from civil litigation allowed the partisan expert to flourish. This is no longer the case. The expert witness unquestionably faces an increasingly perilous liability climate, and must be cognizant of the legal rules and procedures. The authors provide guidelines with risk management strategies for the neurologist serving as an expert witness.
authors.affiliation: Legal Medicine Consultants, LLC, Seattle, WA 98110, USA. JohnstonMDJD@aol.com
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Sartwelle
mesh_terms: D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D009462:Neurology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012308:Risk Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence