Giving expert evidence: A guide

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to present information, integrated from a wide range of sources including the author’s professional experience and jury research, as a guide to assist the expert medical witness. There are countless learned treatises about expert evidence for lawyers, but little has been written about the basics for the witness. What follows is an exploration of the fundamentals of giving expert evidence. It is designed to increase the knowledge and confidence of the inexperienced witness so that the information they wish to impart can be presented clearly, objectively, and effectively to the tribunal of fact, be it judge or jury. The advice offered is unapologetically practical. The chapter commences with an examination of the practical implications of the law of expert evidence for the expert witness and then considers the integration of report production and in-court testimony. It concludes with a practical guide to survival in the witness box.