May 9, 2021

What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses: A forensic pathologist explains

"You’re a clinician. You had a patient die under your care, and now your hospital is being sued. You are not named in the lawsuit, but you are being asked to give a deposition. How much of your time is this going to take? If some lawyer sends you...

"You’re a clinician. You had a patient die under your care, and now your hospital is being sued. You are not named in the lawsuit, but you are being asked to give a deposition. How much of your time is this going to take? If some lawyer sends you thousands of pages to review before scheduling multiple phone calls and prep sessions and, finally, a deposition under oath … what do you say? What is your obligation to testify in court as a scientific expert?"

Judy Melinek is a forensic pathologist and CEO, PathologyExpert Inc.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "What to do when physicians get subpoenaed as witnesses." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/07/what-to-do-when-physicians-get-subpoenaed-as-witnesses.html)