9.10 Cross-examination of Defense Experts

• Library: Medical Malpractice Law in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

9.10 CROSS-EXAMINATION OF DEFENSE EXPERTS

9.1001 In General. Cross-examination of a defense expert, as with all witnesses, serves only two purposes: (i) discrediting the direct testimony of the expert and (ii) eliciting testimony favorable to the plaintiff's theory of the case. Discrediting the direct testimony can be done by attacking the expert's qualifications or methodologies, attacking the factual basis of the opinion or the validity of the conclusion itself, or showing reasons the expert may be biased.

9.1002 Qualifications. Scrutiny of the expert's qualifications is a line of attack usually used in the opening stages of cross-examination to taint the jury's view of the expert. It is also an excellent lead-in to impeachment of the expert's opinion. If the expert has little clinical experience with the procedure, drug, or pathology at issue, he or she must be relying on something he or she has read or been taught. This will set the stage to review with the expert what is found in the literature or the absence of anything in the literature supporting what is espoused by the...