Earlier this week the Florida State Legislature passed a bill which would require expert witnesses testifying against a physician in a medical malpractice case to practice in the in the exact specialty of medicine as the defendant physician. This is an important piece of legislation which Governor Rick Scott should sign into law.
Florida already requires that expert witnesses review and certify cases for potential medical malpractice prior to these claims being litigated. The problem that Florida has experienced is the lack of expertise of the reviewer. Every medical malpractice case is based upon the standard of care not being met. It is difficult for a physician to know the standard of care in the field of medicine that he or she does not practice. Traditionally, there have been some witnesses that feel confident to testify to standards of care in dozens of specialties of medicine. The basis for these “experts’ ” opinions has solely been the plaintiff’s attorney ability to cut a check.
Senate Bill 1792 cuts into the ability of professional witnesses to testify to a variety of medical specialties. This is a good thing. The whole idea of requiring an expert witness is to provide accurate and current information regarding standard of care in a given medical case. This piece of legislation moves us much closer to that goal. By signing the SB 1792, Gov. Scott will protect Florida physicians and increase the overall integrity of medical malpractice litigation in his state.
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What about a Board Certified Cosmetic Surgeon? A plastic surgeon most commonly has little to no training in cosmetic surgery, yet in almost every case, they are plaintiffs experts against cosmetic surgeons.
While I agree that only physicians with experience in the issue at hand should be used, there is overlap in the specialties. You don’t need a brain surgeon to tell a jury that the wrong side of the brain was operated on. Thus, the issue is one of experience. For instance, if a case has an issue related to the interpretation of EKG’s. Should only a cardiologist be called as an expert? What if the defendant is an internist? If an ED physician misses an MI is it wrong to call a cardiologist as an expert to say that the EKG was misinterpreted, the labs were never ordered, etc.
The issue, again, is experience with the issues at hand. By the way, just how serious was the problem in Florida???? No one is saying that a family practice physician should be able to testify to the standard of care in a neurosurgical case. This is just an overreach designed to cater not to facts but to the fantasy that doctors need to be protected.
Kathy, I see your point, and agree with some of what you are saying. Specifically, there are many tests that can be equally skillfully evaluated by many different medical specialists. I don’t disagree.
My point is, and we may not even disagree with it is that there are many plaintiff “whore” witnesses who will say anything for money. For instance, I had a washed out, drunk alcoholic ENT who had not done surgery in over 5 years, had multiple medical licenses taken from him, testify against me in a med mal case regarding a breast implant case. He hadn’t done implant surgery in at least 5 years, he had no record of being in even a “cosmetic” board, and admitted that his testimony was unethical according to the ENT guidlines. But he tistified, and I prevailed.
So yes, we all need protection in the way of clarification of the rules , and rules that really make sense.
That is all that is needed.
sek
Florida and particularly South Florida has a severe problem with liability. This is an excellent bill to start to address this problem. There is one doctor who has more legal secretaries than assistants in his private practice. If I’m going to be sued then at least I want to be accused by someone who actually understands what I do.
eliminate any payment for testimony except for very nominal hourly rate, and pick from rotating pool of actual, practicing physicians to testify as to what they do everyday …..then you eliminate the whores who do not actually practice because it is more profitable to testify and find out what the community is really doing!
While his bill may have support in he medical profession it will devastate patients who have truly been injured. As a defense attorney I could find any number of physicians to defend questionable care because medicine is “an art not a science.” But to ask a local physician if a colleague committed malpractice, and even when he will “privately or off the record” say yes, he or she would never say so when put under oath. It is time the medical profession stands up and is willing to point fingers at each other when the care is bad. The reason many plaintiffs lawyers have to go outside Florida is because very, very few in the state will stand up and say what needs to be said out fear of losing referrals. I have seen it happen time and again when I was defending cases. Yes I now represent plaintiffs but for every one case I take 10 have been turned down. Clients are told poor results are not malpractice but when it exists it needs to be outed. Many clients come and state a later treating physician suggested they speak to an attorney but then the same physician becomes a mute when asked what they think and whether they think what happened to the patient was a breach of the standard of care.