This is an Order entered in Davidson County Circuit Court that effectively shifts the costs of deposing expert witnesses to the defendant if they disclose more than two experts on any subject. The Order requires the defendant pay the court reporter fee, transcript fee, and any expert witness fee associated with the plaintiff’s discovery deposition of the additional expert witnesses. The Order comes from a motion in a medical malpractice case. For a copy of the motion and memorandum of law in support (or for a clearer copy of the signed order that has not been shrunken down to post on the web), email me.
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Medical malpractice cases are expensive propositions for plaintiffs in any case, but when there are a number of defendants involved, the time and costs required can steamroll quickly. More defendants = more defense lawyers = more time and eyes watching the case on the defense side = exponentially more work for the plaintiff’s attorney.
In addition, each defendant will likely line up his or her own expert witnesses. In case one of the expert’s falls apart before trial, the defendant may disclose more than one expert in each field. The net effect is that the injured tort victim has to pay to depose the parade of expert witnesses put forth by the defendants. As I said earlier, the time and costs can steamroll quickly.