Carbaugh v. Asbestos Corporation: Medical Expert Witness Unlicensed Utah Physician

Read the additional discussion regarding whether Dr. Schonfeld, who though not licensed to practice medicine in Utah, can be considered a credible medical expert witness in the Carbaugh v. Asbestos Corporation case. This Opinion involves a number of asbestos plaintiffs who sought relief after finding that their medical expert, although a licensed and credentialed physician in other states, was not licensed to practice medicine in Utah.

We hold that the expert testimony exception permits expert witnesses to conduct examinations in preparation for their forthcoming expert testimony. Pre-testimony examinations of litigants will often be an essential part of an experts’ preparation to provide helpful testimony to potential jurors. It is clear to us that the expert testimony exemption anticipates such examinations and shields those who perform them from the strictures of the Act.

We note, however, that this holding does not permit medical experts who are not licensed in Utah to enjoy the same privileges to practice as a physician duly licensed to practice medicine in this state. To qualify for the expert testimony exception, an unlicensed individual’s practices or acts must be reasonably related to the testimony that they are preparing to give.

Foreign experts must carefully design their diagnostic activities to produce medical data that will be helpful in preparing their testimony. And they must take care not to exceed the scope of the exception, leaving to others matters of treatment and disease management not customarily associated with the duties of an expert witness.

Courtesy of the Utah State Courts

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