Ultimately, the court determined that the case could go forward to assess whether there was any validity to the charges made by the expert witness.7
Oversight of physician–expert witnesses is becoming more prevalent among professional specialty societies, state medical societies, and state medical licensing boards. Depending on the region, state, or locale, a physician who notes inappropriate testimony by an expert witness—on behalf of a plaintiff or defendant—may have a better opportunity now to file a complaint with a professional grievance committee established in a pertinent venue.
The cases here teach important lessons for physicians considering bringing a complaint to a grievance committee:
- A physician who files a complaint should be certain not to make unsupported claims or inflammatory statements, or breach any confidentiality provisions in the grievance process
- Complainants’ actions should be well documented because they may be subject to judicial review later
- Physicians should refrain from bringing a complaint against an expert witness to any organization with which that witness is not affiliated because a court might view the role of the organization in that situation differently
- An expert witness who believes that he (or she) has been improperly accused of wrongdoing might not be able to appeal the decision of a professional society to an external court, but he can seek judicial review of actions that affect his medical license and may be able to bring a personal lawsuit in extreme cases of illegal accusation.
- The grievance process should be organized to avoid favoring either party; it should allow both sides to present their opinions and supporting evidence before a set of impartial observers
- An appropriate opportunity should be available for internal appeal
- Although a professional conduct committee can regulate expert witness-related work of its members, that authority may not extend to non-members.