0:01

This section is, I, I kind of want you to understand, um,

0:05

what our obligations are to you, uh, when you agree

0:09

to be an expert witness for us.

0:11

All right? The first thing is,

0:14

is I don't wanna set you up for failure.

0:17

Um, by the time I've even reached out

0:19

or called you, um, I'm pretty familiar with your background.

0:23

I know where you probably went to college, I know

0:26

where you went to medical school.

0:27

I know where you did your residency, fellowship of app,

0:30

you know, if applicable, I know where you're working

0:34

or a large part of your work history,

0:36

and I'm probably pretty familiar

0:37

with publications if you've, if you've got publications.

0:41

Um, so I have done a pretty good job of vetting you

0:44

by the time I even reach out to you.

0:47

And then at this point, you know, the conversation, if we,

0:50

we get to the point of you're willing

0:52

to do this and okay, yep.

0:54

Um, we're then having a conversation about, alright,

0:57

this is a specific area.

0:59

Are you comfortable with that area?

1:01

And feel you can, you know, opine. Um, okay. Yep. Yep.

1:05

So I want you set up for success, not failure.

1:09

I don't want going into this, the defense attorney

1:12

to be able to, um, kind of, uh,

1:16

chip away at any of your credentials.

1:19

I want you solid, and I want you

1:20

to feel comfortable in that regard.

1:22

The next thing is, my job to do is to provide you with all

1:27

I'm gonna underline relevant materials.

1:31

So I oftentimes do cases that involve sometimes,

1:36

you know, 4, 5, 6 different specialties in medicine.

1:40

And I may have you on board for a very specific role.

1:44

You don't need all of the oncologist records,

1:48

or you don't need all of these things.

1:49

Now, if there's something there that you want, you say, Hey,

1:52

you know, Kelly, I, you know,

1:54

as I'm looking at this, it'd be helpful.

1:56

Well, by all means I'm gonna get it for you.

1:58

Um, but for the most part, I'm kind

2:01

of a gatekeeper in deciding who needs what.

2:03

And then you let me know if there's something else

2:05

that you need, or if you are not comfortable

2:11

not having certain materials, in other words,

2:13

you would feel more confident in your ability

2:15

to render your opinions.

2:16

If you had X material,

2:18

then we're gonna talk about it and I'm gonna get it to you.

2:21

So, um, understand that's out there.

2:23

Understand that you're part of the process.

2:25

Understand that you can request, um, certain things

2:28

because I, you know, you are going

2:31

to do the best job for me.

2:34

When you feel really confident

2:37

and comfortable in, in what I'm asking you

2:40

to do in the opinions that I'm asking you to give, you know,

2:43

to render during the case.

2:45

Um, it is my job moving on to, to make sure,

2:49

as we've talked about a little bit, that you are

2:53

so well prepared for your deposition

2:56

and for trial if we get that far.

2:59

So, understand that

3:04

a very small percentage of um,

3:07

cases actually make it all the way to the trial process.

3:11

A large percentage of cases make it

3:13

to the deposition process.

3:15

Uh, so it's a little bit different from the standpoint is,

3:18

is you, you know, a much smaller room,

3:20

there isn't a judge in the room.

3:22

Uh, typically there's no jury there.

3:25

You know, it's, uh, it is a more intimate setting

3:27

where you're giving your opinions.

3:29

Um, but you, you need

3:33

to be well prepared for that process.

3:34

And I will tell you unequivocally, in my experience,

3:38

the vast majority of cases are won

3:41

and loss during the discovery process,

3:43

specifically the deposition process with experts.

3:47

So it's not uncommon, uh, for me

3:49

and for cases that I see to go in

3:51

and have, you know, I'll present my experts

3:55

and the defense will come in and take your deposition,

3:58

and we get to a point then that the case settles within

4:02

a week or two, uh, of that process.

4:04

So just be aware that that happens, um, pretty frequently.

4:09

So, depositions, I consider depositions to be

4:13

the most important part

4:15

of the litigation process personally.

4:18

So they're that important,

4:19

and you need to be very comfortable

4:22

and well prepared for that process.

4:24

And it's my job or your hiring lawyer's job

4:27

to get you to that point.

4:29

Um, you are going to, I'm, as I said, I'm gonna provide you

4:33

with, in addition to all medical records

4:36

and relevant facts as a physician, I'm also going

4:40

to provide you with legal documents.

4:43

And, um, you know, we get to the point in Colorado,

4:46

we call them, um, uh,

4:50

expert endorsements.

4:52

And it's my job to, um, make sure that you have,

4:57

and so when the defense attorney hires a radiologist

5:01

to rebut your opinions,

5:02

because I have to present your opinions first,

5:04

and they go out and get their expert

5:06

who rebuts your opinions, what I'm going to do then

5:09

is provide you with their expert's opinions at, so

5:13

that you can then come back

5:15

and provide a rebuttal to that if it's appropriate.

5:18

So you're going to get all

5:19

that information, and it's my job.

5:21

You're not, you know, to get that to you.

5:23

So you're not doing this in a vacuum.

5:25

You understand the lay of the land, the process,

5:27

what's going on, you know, everybody's, you know, role and,

5:32

and, and agenda if you will, moving forward.

5:35

And then finally, it's my job to promptly pay you.

5:39

I mean, you have a right to be paid for this.

5:42

And, um, you know, I, I think it's important

5:46

and accurate, uh, to pay you promptly and you should be.

5:50

And then there's, you know, avenues to respond if, if

5:53

that doesn't happen, which sometimes lawyers out there, um,

5:58

you know, have a problem with, have issues with that,

6:02

and it's not acceptable.

6:03

It's not appropriate. So you can,

6:07

if it's a new lawyer you that you're working with that, uh,

6:10

you've never worked with before,

6:11

you may require a retainer upfront.

6:13

Most of my experts will say, oh, Kelly,

6:15

bill me at the end, or do whatever.

6:17

They're gonna get paid and they know it.

6:19

Some will say, well, you know, let's, let's get you

6:22

to the opinion phase.

6:24

We'll bill you for all of your hours

6:26

and then, you know, bill on a periodic basis going forward,

6:30

like after your deposition,

6:31

after your expert endorsement as we prepare for trial.

6:35

So that's one of our obligations to you

6:37

and you should hold us to that.

6:39

I'd like to, um, interrupt and make a few comments. Kel.

6:42

Um, number one is relying on the lawyer

6:48

to know what is relevant medical record that you need

6:52

is fraught with potential problems.

6:56

And when I do my expert witness work, particularly prior

7:00

to deposition, particularly prior to, uh, testimony

7:04

and trial, I want to see all of the information

7:07

that is available because I want

7:09

to make the decision about what's relevant or not.

7:11

Kelly's outstanding at what she does,

7:13

but she may not know that the EKG strip

7:17

may influence my interpretation of an MRI of the brain.

7:21

Uh, she may not see that

7:22

because of her, uh, medical knowledge compared to what you

7:26

as a subspecialist medical knowledge might be.

7:29

The second thing I will say to you is that by

7:32

and large my experience is that defense attorneys

7:38

pay much later than plaintiff attorneys

7:42

because they have to go

7:43

through the medical insurance company, um,

7:46

the malpractice insurance company generally

7:48

to get you the money.

7:50

So my experience is expect delays,

7:53

particularly on the defense side.

7:55

The plaintiff's side is a little more motivated

7:57

to get you on board

7:58

and to make you happy, uh, than the, uh,

8:00

medical insurance company.