Medical Expert Witnesses Can Be Sued for Negligence in the Preparation of Their Testimony

October 27, 2017

Medical Expert Witness Liability Insurance (Errors and Omissions coverage)

Medical Expert and Witnesses can be sued for negligence in the preparation of their testimony. Should a client, or more likely an attorney who previously hired you and lost their case, allege that you were professionally negligent by failing to perform professional duties as promised in your contract as an expert, this is the coverage you will need. Generally, this coverage is separate from your Clinical Medical Malpractice Insurance.

This work can be endorsed on your medical malpractice insurance policy, but some companies and some medical groups do not want any outside work included— so to protect yourself for the unique work of providing expert opinion (when your own policy will not cover you) The Doctors Insurance Agency has special carriers and underwriters familiar with these contracts.

The Medical Expert Witnesses Insurance coverage is similar to what you are accustomed to with your clinical liability insurance, the limits are $1 million per claim / $3 million aggregate. There is usually a low deductible of $2500 per claim and the premium is often between $2,000 and $3000 per year.

Medical Expert Witness Liability Insurance is not expensive and it travels with you.

These policies protect all types of expert witness work. The premium is determined by your projected annual revenue and you can sign more than one contract (similar to the medical director policies they are not restricted to just one contract and one location). These policies move with you and give you the flexibility necessary to sign enough contracts to make this work a nice supplement to your income (outside of your normal medical group). Perhaps that is why this is one of the most growing areas for our physicians.