Orthopedic medical malpractices: Need of an orthopedic expert witness

Most of the orthopedic malpractice cases will require the need for an orthopedic expert witness. It’s highly complicated for non-doctors to understand the complex elements of a malpractice case. No matter how qualified or experienced is the attorney, at some of the investigations, they’ll need help from these expert witnesses. In most states, you need to seek legal help before initiating a court case against a medical practitioner.

In this context, you need to understand who is an expert witness and how will they provide testimony in a case.

Expert witnesses and their role:

Without the expert guidance and medical testimony of an expert witness, the jury will either give an early verdict or they might dismiss the case. This is quite obvious because it is not possible for the lawyer or the judges to comprehend the intricate matters of the case. Certain technical information is needed in a medical malpractice case before pronouncing the judgment. In this context, you need to understand that the opinion of these expert witnesses is not binding on the jury but without these case facts and reviews, the decision-makers cannot conclude the matter.

Hence, it is crucial to find an orthopedic expert witness at the early stage of investigation. However, this is possible only when you seek help from a professional lawyer. These lawyers have links with a wide network of expert witnesses and note that a lawyer will never file a lawsuit before discussing the matter with an expert witness. If they believe that there has been a case of medical malpractice, then the attorney will file a lawsuit.

Expert witness Testimony: Importance

An orthopedic medical expert witness needs to find if there has been a case of negligence. For this, they’ll have to prove two essential things:

• Did the doctor breach the duty of care that he owes to the patient?
• Did the breach of the duty of care caused damage to the patients?

Standard of care–

Expert witnesses will evaluate what a competent doctor of the same credibility and under the same circumstance would have done.  The expert witness will provide opinions based on this finding. A lawsuit can be filed if there has been a breach of the standard of care. These opinions are not binding on the jury but without these case facts, the jury cannot understand the case.

Did the breach of duty of care cause injury to the patient?

Orthopedic expert witnesses have to testify about whether the breach of the duty of care has caused injuries to the patient. In a given medical situation, there can be a lot of factors and the medical professional may not be directly responsible for the injury. Therefore, the expert witnesses have to explain how the incompetence of the doctor has caused injury to the patient.

The laws related to medical malpractices are governed by a complex body of rules which might differ from state to state. Therefore, it is important to seek help from a legal representative.