Guidelines for expert witness testimony in medical liability cases (S93-3). American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Medical Liability.

The American Academy of Pediatrics joins with other medical organizations in emphasizing the obligation of objectivity when its members respond to requests to serve as expert witnesses in the judicial systern. Regardless of the source of the request, such testimony ought to embody the relevant facts and the expert’s knowledge, experience, and best judgment regarding the case. At the same time, the Academy reiterates that it cannot condone participation of its mernbers in legal actions in which their testimony will impugn some performances that dearly fall within the accepted standards of practice or, conversely, will endorse some obviously deficient practices. The role of an expert witness in a medical liability case is to testify to the standards of care in a given case, and to explain how the defendant did or did not conform to those standards. An expert witness may be asked to testify as to whether a deviation from the standard of care caused the injury. Expert witnesses are also called upon to help an attorney determine if a case has merit, and in several states attorneys are required by law to consult an expert before a suit is filed. Because experts are relied upon to help courts and juries understand the “standards of practice” as applicable to a given case, care must be exercised that such “expert testirnon ’ does not narrowly reflect the experts’ views about applicable standards to the exclusion of other acceptable and perhaps more realistic choices. The standards of care for generalists may not necessarily be the standards of care for subspecialists. The Academy considers it unethical for any expert to provide testimony that does not adhere scrupulously to the goal of objectivity. The Academy also recognizes its responsibffity andthat of its Fellows for continued efforts to improve health care for children. However, some daims of medical malpractice may represent the response of our society to a technologically advanced form of health care that has, unfortunately, fostered some unrealistic expectations. As technology continues to become more complex, risks as well as benefits continue and sometimes increase, making the practice of medicine more and more complicated. Under such circumstances, it becomes most important to distinguish between “medical maloccurrence” and “medical malpractice.”1 “Medical malpractice,”