Expert Witnesses in Iowa Medical Malpractice Cases

Expert Witnesses in Iowa Medical Malpractice Cases

The proper selection and use of expert witnesses is vital to any successful medical malpractice case in Iowa.  In fact, the use of expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases in Iowa is almost a necessity given the complexity of these types of cases.  Only rarely is a medical malpractice case is so simple and obvious that it can be successfully resolved without even the informal assistance from an expert as the law requires the use of an expert except in very limited cases. 

The assistance of an expert witness is not the same in every medical malpractice case. Expert witnesses serve many crucial functions at various stages for plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases in Iowa:

•  Experts can help a plaintiff’s attorney, such as the attorneys at Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers, evaluate a medical malpractice case in order to determine if the case has the potential for a satisfactory recovery.

•  Expert reports and depositions can be used by a plaintiff’s attorney to negotiate a settlement from the defendant healthcare providers prior to trial.

• Experts can also be used at trial to testify on behalf of a client.

The subject matter of an expert’s opinion can also vary. Some experts focus on whether or not the healthcare provider violated the standard of care, i.e. whether they were negligent. Other experts focus on predicting or quantifying the damages a plaintiff has suffered.  In addition, other experts focus on whether the healthcare provider’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s damages. 

At Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers we routinely work with experts that are some of the nation’s leading medical minds who practice medicine at institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Stanford Medical School, Columbia Medical School, Johns Hopkins, and Northwestern University.  Every medical malpractice case in Iowa is different, and at Hayes Lorenzen Lawyers our experience in the field of medical malpractice allows us to make intelligent and informed decisions on expert witnesses for our clients.