Buffalo personal injury lawsuits frequently involve multiple injuries to different parts of the body. As medical treatment has become extremely specialized, various injuries will often be treated by different treatment providers who have developed an expertise in a specific area of treatment.
When a medical providers testimony is needed, for example, at trial, most personal injury lawyers usually find it preferable to have the provider who actually performed treatment testify regarding the treatment they rendered. In many cases, however, it is not possible or practical to have all of the treatment providers testify. Certain doctors may not be available, or the sheer expense of paying all of the doctors to take time to appear in court may make it impractical to use all of them.
In such cases, it is possible to have one of the doctors who are testifying provide information regarding treatment by other providers based on their review of the medical records and their interaction with the injured person. If the defense challenges the propriety of such testimony, a determination regarding this issue may be made by the court regarding whether the physician’s general knowledge is sufficient to render an expert opinion. When this is allowed by the court in a personal injury lawsuit however, the jury may give less weight to the doctor’s opinion because he or she did not actually provide the discussed treatment and is discussing an area outside of his or her specialized field.
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