| Modern society is run pursuant to the rule of law. For | | | | say a lawsuit arises over whether a psychiatrist should |
| all the groaning this results in, not to mention lawyer | | | | have prescribed a particular drug to a patient. A |
| jokes, the rule of law allows us to set forth basic | | | | person in a jury is not going to know or understand the |
| methods of doing things such as contracts and rules | | | | chemical makeup of the drug, the standard of care a |
| of conduct. When a dispute arises, however, litigation | | | | psychiatrist is supposed to use when determining |
| can commence. When the matter is something | | | | whether the drug is appropriate for the patient, nor |
| intellectually complex, the use of an expert witness is | | | | whether the drug caused a negative reaction. The |
| called for. | | | | psychiatric expert witness is tasked with making all of |
| So, just what is an expert witness? Well, it is someone | | | | this understandable. |
| who is considered knowledgeable in a particular field | | | | There is a bit of a catch-22 when it comes to experts |
| based on their training and experience. An oncologist | | | | in trial. The problem is each side gets one. As you |
| who has worked for 20 years is an expert when it | | | | might imagine, the expert for each side tends to have |
| comes to diagnosing and treating cancer. A dentist | | | | a very different opinion than the one on the other side. |
| with 15 years of experience is an expert on gingivitis. | | | | Given the complexity of some cases, many lawyers |
| The list is really endless, but calls for someone who | | | | feel the outcome often boils down to which expert the |
| "knows there stuff" in a particular field. | | | | jury finds the most agreeable. That can sometimes |
| Why do we have expert witnesses testify in cases? | | | | lead to very poor results. |
| Their role is to take a complex issue for which a jury | | | | Expert witnesses have been used in court cases for |
| probably has no expertise and explain it to them in | | | | about as long as the court system has existed. Their |
| laymen's terms. A classic type of litigation where this | | | | presence should actually increase as we move into a |
| almost always occurs is in medical malpractice. Let's | | | | more complex society in the future. |