Q&A: Expert witness standards

Q: Should the state Legislature set minimum standards dictating who may testify as an expert witness in professional liability cases?

“Those of us who are firm believers in the jury system are in favor of allowing jurors to make the determination as to who is qualified and who is not, always subject to cross-examination. Setting arbitrary minimum standards would only serve as an uneven and unfair restriction of testimony by experts. It would in effect restrict the fundamental right to a jury trial by precluding jurors from hearing testimony from those who may shed light on a subject but not meet arbitrary standards set forth by the Legislature. Who can testify needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. To apply a uniform standard that is not flexible would be unfair to everyone on both sides.”

—Andrew C. Meyer Jr.

Founding partner and medical malpractice

plaintiffs’ attorney, Lubin & Meyer, Boston

“It should. The Legislature has a duty to the people of Massachusetts to protect them, including a duty to set guidelines. In many cases the experts are coming in from other states, but there should be some sort of connection between the experts and Massachusetts. They should have to take a legal education course specific to Massachusetts to qualify them and to ensure some sort of continuity. There should be some connection between an expert witness and the standards of care and practice in Massachusetts.”

—Anne M. Gobi

State representative, D-Spencer, member of the Joint Committee on Public Health

“Micromanaging trials by setting minimum standards for experts would be a mistake. Trial courts in Massachusetts have exercised discretion broadly and reasonably. The U.S. Supreme Court and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court have given the lower courts appropriate guidance. Strict minimum criteria might result in the exclusion of relevant and appropriate evidence.”

—Martin C. Foster

Managing partner and medical malpractice defense attorney,

Foster & Eldridge, Cambridge

“Ideally it should be left to medical societies to create standards for this type of testimony. There may be some value in the Legislature making some minimal requirements that are consistent with guidelines from medical societies.”

—Karen McAlmon, M.D., F.A.A.P.

Neonatologist, Childrens Hospital, Boston and

Winchester Hospital, Winchester