Patent Law

The above-titled article by Michael Brennan, David Dilenschneider, Myles Levin, and Jim Robinson appears in the 2009 Annual Review from the ABA Section of Litigation's Committee on Expert Witnesses.

In a recent Vioxx lawsuit, the judge overturned a defense verdict and ordered a new trial because he found out that the defense expert had misrepresented his credentials by testifying that he was currently certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease when, in fact, those certifications had recently lapsed. Importantly, a relatively easy search through certification information available from the American Board of Medical Specialties would have revealed the lack of current certification to defense counsel.

Evaluating an Expert?s Credentials

A thorough researcher must double check an expert?s credentials rather than simply relying on information related in an expert?s disclosure. Studies indicate that falsifying credentials on a resume is not a rare occurrence. For instance, ResumeDoctor.com recently conducted a study of more than 1,000 resumes over a six-month period and discovered that more than 40 percent of them contained at least one significant inaccuracy relating to dates of employment, job titles, or education, and that more than 12 percent contained two or more errors.

The authors discuss a numerous sources and techniques to evaluate an expert's credentials.  Read the article here (membership required) or a more detailed version of the article here.