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Experienced personal injury attorneys will provide you with the skills and information needed to be an effective, successful, and ethical expert medical witness. This is a practical program which emphasizes physician participation in trial and deposition testimony. The curriculum emphasizes practical problems that develop when physicians are called upon to act as expert witnesses in an unfamiliar legal system. It is designed for any physician who may be called as an expert witness in a malpractice or personal injury case
Learning Objectives
At the completion of this seminar you will be able to:
Kenneth I. Kolpan, JD, is a highly accomplished trial lawyer whose practice specializes in medical malpractice litigation and head injuries. Mr. Kolpan has over 29 years experience in the practice of law. He has lectured extensively and his publications include "Medicolegal Aspects Of Head Injury" and "Traumatic Brain Damage: Damages, Rehabilitation, and Litigation Issues." In addition to his law practice, Mr. Kolpan is an Assistant Professor at Tufts University School Of Medicine, Medical-Legal Editor of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation and Co-Chairperson of the Brain Injury Association's Trial Lawyer's Conference.
Registration Information: The $695 tuition includes a valuable seminar reference manual, continental breakfast and lunch each day with faculty, coffee breaks, and a dynamic learning experience.
Saturday, August 3, 2002
The seminar leader discusses the purpose of the seminar and its objectives and invites the attendees to discuss the reasons they are in attendance.
with demonstrations:
A discussion of the legal requirements for qualifying as an expert medical witness. The discussion includes an explanation of the Daubert case, practical suggestions to follow when attempting to qualify, and an explanation of the types of questions you are likely to face during cross-examination regarding your qualifications.
In trial demonstrations physicians are qualified by counsel as an expert medical witness and are cross-examined on their qualifications.
Key "magic words" physicians must be familiar with are reviewed. These include the terms "possibility," "probability," "causation," "aggravation," "exacerbation," "recurrence," "new injury," "impairment," "disability," "standard of care," "to a reasonable degree of medical certainty," and other "magic words."
In trial demonstrations physicians utilize many of the key magic words during testimony and are also cross-examined by counsel in an attempt to use the magic words to change opinions or trap physicians.
Discussion includes the essential information that every expert medical witness should know about the civil litigation process including depositions, subpoenas, expert interrogatories, discovery, protective orders, and summary judgment
Discussion includes why depositions of expert medical witnesses are taken and how deposition testimony differs from testimony taken at trial. Also included is how to avoid being abused by attorneys during deposition, how to avoid scheduling problems, and how to deal with the situation where you are deposed as a fact witness in an attempt to avoid paying you an expert witness fee.
In demonstrations physicians are examined by counsel to demonstrate how to testify effectively at depositions.
Faculty reviews key points and opens the floor for a free-flowing discussion of the issues covered in the morning session.
Discussion includes how to maintain your honesty, integrity, and credibility while participating in an adversarial judicial system. The potential civil and ethical liabilities of expert witnesses are also discussed. Techniques for increasing your credibility are also explained.
Discussion includes a preview of the questions you are likely to be asked on direct and cross-examination. Other preparation techniques dealing with scheduling and your file are also explained.
Discussion includes how to increase your activities in the medical-legal arena in a cost-effective, dignified manner which will not adversely affect your credibility. Also included is a discussion of common pitfalls that should be avoided which can destroy a physician's viability as an expert witness.
Discussion includes a lecture on the essentials of medical malpractice law and a preview of the types of questions you can expect to be asked when testifying for the defense or plaintiff in a medical malpractice action.
In a trial demonstration, counsel will cross-examine physicians testifying in medical malpractice cases.
Sunday, August 4, 2002
Discussion includes the most effective responses to initial contact by counsel or insurer and determining the nature of the assignment, your responsibilities, applicable deadlines, and the compensation to be paid. Also stressed is how physicians should act to avoid being underpaid and to ensure that their expert witness fees are paid promptly and in full.
Discussion includes the types of trick questions physicians face and techniques for answering them without compromising your opinions, ethics, or integrity.
In trial demonstrations counsel demonstrates the most difficult questions physicians face while testifying as expert medical witnesses.
Discussion includes how to deal with abuses such as repetitive, abusive, and invasive questioning, overbroad subpoenas, disregard for personal comfort, and unreasonable time constraints.
Discussion provides practical advice for testifying at trial. Topics covered include body language, posture, the use of demonstrative evidence, and how to properly interact with the judge and jury.
In a trial demonstration counsel and physicians will demonstrate the techniques covered
Counsel and physicians will demonstrate the techniques learned in the seminar during in-depth examinations. Counsel will solicit from the attendees actual cases they are involved in to use as the fact pattern for the examinations.
Faculty review key points and open the floor for a free-flowing discussion of the issues covered in the morning session.
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