The Legal Investigator Winter 2011 Vol.35, Issue 4 : Page 4
civil focus by Kathleen Cunningham Care and Feeding of Your Expert (Continued) • Have written materials indexed, well organized and well presented. Sending an expert a box full of disorganized documents never goes over well. This ends up costing the expert time and increasing hourly time spent on the case. • If the expert is particularly busy, try to set up an appointment for a telephone call and ask for no more than 15 minutes of the expert’s time in any one session. • Avoid asking the expert to opine on a subject that is not within his or her realm of specialty. • In lieu of having the expert generate a written report, offer to submit a pre-written affidavit to them in which the expert’s opinion is spelled out. This saves them the time and hassle of having to generate their own document. All they have to do is review it and hopefully sign it. Give the expert an opportunity to make changes. Drafting the affidavit yourself also gives you more control over exactly what information you want to convey. • Make any necessary travel arrangements yourself and make them in line with the expert’s preferences. • Do not put the expert in the position of having to make assumptions that are not backed up by the evidence. • When drafting a Designation of Experts, make sure the expert is comfortable with the information in the designation prior to filing. • Once your case has resolved, contact the expert and let them know how the case turned out. They appreciate this courtesy. A follow up thank you note is also appreciated. • Developing a friendly rapport with the expert’s assistant or secretary is suggested. If you can’t get past the person who answers the phone, your access to the expert is likely compromised. Winning a case without the right expert can be difficult. Obtaining the right expert and maintaining a positive relationship with the expert will increase the likelihood of being able to work with him again in the future. A happy and motivated expert is an effective expert. — Kathleen Cunningham, Medical Investigator, Certified Medical Legal Consultant, Great Falls, Montana, (406) 788-1135. Kathleen Cunningham is a medical investigator with almost 20 years experience in the field. Ten of those years were spent working full time for Gerry Spence’s firm in Wyoming. She became Certified in Medical Legal Consulting in 2002. She has been a NALI member since 2006. She has published articles in PI Magazine, Stroke Magazine (an American Heart Association Journal) and The Journal of Healthcare Protection Management. She is an independent consultant, living and working in Great Falls, Montana. Contact us for a confidential interview Email us at: hawkeyesuperhawk@gmail.com 24 hour dispatch, 7 days a week 3512 Bush River Rd. Suite B, Columbia, SC 29210 Phone: 803.750.8858, Fax: 803.750.8857 Toll Free: 866.934.HAWK (4295) www.hawkeyedetectiveagency.com Truth and Ethics for All Who Pursue 6 the legal investigator
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