Should testimony about standards of care be permitted in medical liability cases if the expert witness does not practice in a similar specialty as the defendant physician? A state supreme court is considering the question.
The Florida Supreme Court is taking up Edwards v. Sunrise Ophthalmology ASC, in which a lower court had excluded the testimony of an infectious disease specialist, which was offered regarding the standard of care the plaintiff received from her ophthalmologist related to surgery on her lower eyelid.
Under current law in the Sunshine State, expert medical opinion must come from a medical expert who practices in the “same specialty” or “similar specialty” to the physician defendant.
“Physicians facing medical [liability] claims must be held to the standards of care in the specialty for which they are qualified and trained,” the Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies and the Florida Medical Association stated in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Sept. 30. “They should be judged by others who are trained in the same standards of care.”
This policy “reduces the likelihood of unreliable testimony from experts with differing standards of care, and it assures consistency in standards in the courtroom and operating room,” the brief states.
The brief also argues that allowing expert testimony from health care professionals who do not practice the same specialty as the defendant also would lead to “expert shopping.” One of the purposes of the Florida law on expert testimony is to prevent plaintiffs from looking “for a ‘hired gun’ to issue that testimony” if they cannot find a person in a similar specialty who will attest to a breach in standard of care.
“Assuring that specialists are judged in litigation based on their standards of care and by individuals trained and experienced in those standards of care will help protect the integrity of medical [liability] claims,” the brief states.
According to a recent AMA study (log in), nearly two-thirds of medical negligence claims ultimately are dropped, withdrawn or dismissed without any payment. At the same time, the average expense of defending against a medical liability claims—regardless of its merits or success—is $50,000.
“This cost comes at the expense of affordable and available care,” the brief states.
Read more about the AMA’s recent work around medical liability reform.
