A New Jersey federal district court recently denied motions to sever first-party and third-party actions and to bifurcate a long-fought medical malpractice case. This complex case stems from a dismissed initial lawsuit due to a withdrawn medical expert witness. Following…

After providing medical expert testimony in suspected child abuse cases for more than three years, a doctor in Tacoma, Washington has left her hospital post. Dr. Elizabeth Woods’s exit comes after an explosive investigation exposed her lack of credentials in…

On March 9, 2021, a U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of California granted the drug company defendants’ motion for summary judgment in a consolidated multidistrict litigation (MDL). The case involved plaintiff claims that the drug companies failed…

Expert witnesses have become increasingly valuable when litigating a legal case. But fees can be burdensome, particularly for small or midsize firms and especially during lengthy or complex litigation. Instead of forgoing a necessary component of your case—or putting it…

Both inside and outside the courtroom, experts’ services are becoming increasingly indispensable in all stages of litigation. As experts become more and more involved in a case, and the scope of their performance broadens, so will their fees. As such,…

One of the most critical, if underestimated, aspects of the pre-trial process is the summary judgment motion. Once an underused tool, motions for summary judgment have been increasingly utilized for the past 30+ years to obtain a pre-trial judgment in…

Serving as an expert witness during a lawsuit often extends beyond writing an initial report or giving testimony at deposition or trial. Expert witnesses may also be asked to evaluate the reports generated by an opposing party’s expert witness and…

As every attorney, judge, and—most importantly—jury knows, the most critical characteristic of an expert witness offering testimony is their credibility. An expert could be the most qualified in their field, but it means nothing if the jury does not believe…

A federal appellate court in Iowa recently upheld a plaintiff expert witness’s exclusion in a workplace product liability case for their failure to satisfy the requirements of Federal Rules of Evidence 702. The decision in Hirchak v. W.W. Grainger, Inc.,…

Human factors experts focus on how people interact with their environment and consider principles of psychology, design, and usability to optimize safety and performance. Traffic safety human factors experts strive to answer crucial questions regarding road user behavior, expectations, capabilities,…