Party in Med.Mal. Case Can Call Review Panel Member as Expert Witness

Louisiana law requires pre-suit screening of medical-malpractice suits by medical-review panel. In Medine v. Roniger, released today, the Louisiana Supreme Court holds that a party in a medical-malpractice suit may name a member of the medical-review panel as that party's expert witness, at the calling party's cost. In such cases, the panel member / expert witness may function the same as any other expert witness. While in this case, the panel members testified as defense experts, Chief Justice Calogero, writing for the Court, noted that in many cases, the Court's ruling would benefit the plaintiff, who otherwise might be unable to retain an expert witness.

Posted by RPW at July 2, 2004 03:03 PM