Lawyer Monthly - January 2022 Edition

Can you tell us about your experience in medical malpractice cases? Over the last 5 years, I have been retained in approximately 45 cases with 11 depositions, 2 trials and a panel hearing. The breakdown of plaintiff to defense cases is roughly 60% to 40% and I have no preference between the two. I consider myself to be an early to mid-career expert witness. Because of my home location in Virginia, most of my cases are from the northeast and southeast of the country, although I currently practice in several states from New Mexico to Pennsylvania because of my role as a teleradiologist working remotely. Consulting on medical malpractice cases has made me a significantly better radiologist. When reading cases, I am constantly thinking about what types of important findings are likely to be missed and negatively impact patient care. Moreover, I have seen several cases involving a failure of communication and those always lower my threshold for communicating urgent or unexpected findings. My decisions and judgments are often influenced by the malpractice cases I have been involved with and the related discussions regarding standard of care. This in turn has made me a more effective expert witness. In residency training, we would hear about malpractice cases that seemed unfairly judged against the radiologist. This would create fear and promote defensive medicine, which is administering medical care aimed at reducing malpractice risk rather than optimal patient care. I have seen expert witnesses who make inaccurate statements and try