The Medical Malpractice Attorneys at CMG Law are regular contributors to Trial News, the monthly publication of the Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ). These articles support all medical malpractice attorneys in Washington and their clients with useful information about litigating such claims.
In addition, Tyler Goldberg-Hoss, Gene Moen, and Carl-Erich Kruse have each served as chair or co-chair of the WSAJ Medical Negligence Section. And in 2016, Tyler served as editor of the first Medical Negligence Deskbook, published in 2016.
Under the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitur,” a legal term meaning “the thing speaks for itself,” a jury can find medical negligence if the circumstances of an injury are such that it would ordinarily happen only if the defendant were negligent. Expert witnesses might still be needed, especially if there is more than one defendant in the lawsuit.
Strategies for finding, disclosing, and using expert witnesses in the discovery phase of complex litigation are outlined. There may be some changes in the law since this article was published in 1994.
Medical negligence cases are often “battles of the experts.” With few exceptions, you cannot present a medical negligence claim without using experts. This paper discusses both the legal and practical issues involved in obtaining expert support in a complex case, including a medical negligence claim.