Overview.

Physicians make excellent and credible expert witnesses. There’s expert witness review for medical malpractice, disability, injury, and more. You can work from home, enjoy the benefits of lucrative income, and have the opportunity to advocate for people who have suffered an injustice.

What kind of physician is a good fit for this role?

You might enjoy this work if:

• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• You articulate your clinical opinion clearly.
• You enjoy using your physician brain, reviewing clinical cases, being a “detective”, uncovering a diagnosis or missed opportunity.
• You enjoy researching cases and solving problems.
• You evaluate facts objectively.
• You are organized, focused, and attentive to detail.
• You still want to do some clinical work.
• You love to teach and enjoy learning.

Typical life cycle of a review.

As a medical legal consultant doing reviews, you perform pre-trial or pre-litigation medical consulting. The review might look like:

The attorney sends you the medical records ->
You review, investigate, and research ->
Give your opinion via video conference or phone ->
You may be required to generate a report on your findings->
Send your invoice->
Get paid!

If you choose to do more than chart reviews only, you may be required to give a sworn deposition and testify in court. However, most cases do not go to court. If you feel nervous about the idea of testifying, don’t let this put you off. It’s like any skill- you’ll improve with practice if you want to.

Required Qualifications.

• Board certification is typically preferred.
• You are required to be clinically active. How much varies from State to State.
• Teaching experience is a bonus.

You do not need a law degree to do this work. Your medical expertise is required, not a legal opinion.

Your qualifications and experience will be under the microscope and may be questioned by the opposing counsel.

Typical compensation.*

This depends on your specialty, years of clinical and review experience, and the State you live and work in.

Chart reviews consulting only (pre-litigation or pre-trial):
estimated USD 125-200/hr.

For depositions and testifying in court:
estimated USD 500-1000/hr.

Training Courses.**

There are physicians who have experience and will teach you how to do this work and start your own consulting business. Here are a few:

Medical Legal Consulting (Dr Armin Feldman).
This course also has 1:1 coaching support with Dr. Feldman.
For more information, refer to the podcast resource below.

The Expert Resource (Dr. Gretchen Green).
Cost USD 3,497.00 and you earn 12 CME credits.
For more information, refer to the podcast resource below.

Legal Training for Medical Professionals (Dr. Amy Fogelman).
This is a self-paced course; you earn 10 CME credits. Expert witness matching available for graduates. 1:1 coaching support is also available.
Cost: Standard option USD 2,550.00. VIP option USD 3,550.00

How to Start, Build, and Run a Successful Expert Witness Practice.
This is run by SEAK and is a self-paced, on-demand streaming course.
You earn 17.5 CME credits. Cost is USD 1,395.00

How to get started.

Most physicians start their own consulting business and do expert witness reviews as a side-gig. Your first gig may come from an attorney you know. Word-of-mouth and your reputation are important in growing your business.

You can also sign up to be listed as an expert witness in a directory. For examples:

The Expert Institute.
No fee required.

American Medical Forensic Specialists.
No fee required.

The SEAK Expert Witness Directory
Standard online and print registry listing costs USD 635.00. Discount is available if you are a SEAK member or enrolled in the SEAK course.

Additional Resources.

Doctor’s Crossing Podcast interview with Dr. Armin Feldman

Non-Clinical Physicians Podcast Interview with Dr. Gretchen Green

Quiz: Are you a good fit for expert witness work?

Summary.

You already are an expert in your specialty! The attorney and their client need your clinical skill and experience. Expert witness work is an opportunity to use your medical brain, start your own business, be compensated well for your time, and continue learning.

* Data obtained in 2023 from various sources.

** These courses have not been vetted by Dr Karen Barnard LLC, and I am not an affiliate for any of them. As always, do your due diligence and find the course that fits you best.