I have been an expert witness. The opposing side is looking for opportunity to discredit you in any manor. They may do a thorough back ground check to see if you have any thing that could shadow your motivations or your integrity. You can give your opinion however if it is not comparable to currrent literature or medical guidelines then you may be discounted. Do not embelish and try to limit answers to a few words. Listen carefully to the question and answer only that question.
For example, if they are asking did you see this patient on the day of the accident? Only answer yes or no. The attorney may wait and watch you trying to illicit anything further from you to see if you will add additional information that will help them further. You do not need to justify, explain or give any ammunition to the attorney. However, if your opinion is good care was provided you will need concrete explanation for this answer hopefully based on documentation in the chart. Do not be intimidated to refer to chart and read directly from it. It is good to read everything many times and scour for any possible clues to assist you. Do research to understand all disease processes, medications, and standard of care appropriate to the situation. Lastly, practice this questioning process so you hopefully don't get flustered easily. The attorney you are working with should give you some advise as well. Joanne Gigi Hardtke, ARNP
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