Expert Witness Testimony Preparation Note

Document title: Expert Witness Testimony Preparation Note

Version: [number]

Preparation date: [date]

Expert: [name, credentials, specialty, board certifications, license state(s)]

Case: [caption/short title] | [court, jurisdiction] | [docket number]

Retaining party: [party name and counsel/firm]

Proceeding: [deposition / trial] | [date if set] | [jury / bench / not yet determined]

Confidentiality: [confidentiality designation(s)] (Include appropriate legal designations. Add "Not for clinical care; not part of patient's medical record" if the author is also a treating clinician.)

Engagement and Scope

Role: [retained testifying expert / consulting-only (non-testifying) / treating clinician as fact witness / treating clinician offering opinion testimony / record-review expert (no exam)]

Questions presented:

• [Specific question assigned] (List each question explicitly assigned, e.g., standard of care, causation, damages, prognosis, future care needs.)

Out of scope: [Items explicitly excluded] (Do not include legal strategy or attorney mental impressions.)

Scope confirmation: [written confirmation / verbal instruction] | [date confirmed]

Materials Reviewed

(List all materials considered as of this version. For each item include source, date range, and Bates number or document identifier where available.)

• Medical records: [facilities/providers, date ranges, identifiers]
• Imaging/diagnostics: [modality, dates, identifiers]
• Depositions/transcripts: [deponent, date]
• Discovery materials: [type, date]
• Expert reports: [author, date]
• Literature/guidelines relied upon: [citations]
• Other: [photographs, videos, EMS records, etc.]

Materials pending or not received: [items not yet received and relevance to opinions]

Opinions

(Create one block per discrete opinion. Each block must include all subfields below. If any field is unknown, write "Pending" or "Not applicable" rather than omitting.)

Opinion [#]: [Brief title]

Opinion statement: [Clear, testimony-ready declarative statement]

Certainty: [degree of confidence] (Note what limits higher certainty if applicable.)

Basis:

• Key facts relied upon: [citations to specific records/exhibits] (Separate verified facts from reported/unverified statements.)
• Assumptions: [assumptions taken as true for analysis] (Note sensitivity if assumption changes.)
• Methods applied: [methodology used, e.g., differential diagnosis, guideline comparison, timeline reconstruction, literature synthesis]

Alternative explanations considered: [competing hypotheses and why less consistent with the record, or note if still plausible]

Limitations: [constraints, e.g., no exam performed, incomplete records, contested facts, methodological limitations]

Supporting exhibits: [key documents/images anchoring this opinion]

Anticipated challenges: [likely cross-examination points] (Note concessions where appropriate.)

(Repeat Opinion blocks as needed.)

Attestation

Signature: ____________________

Name/Credentials: [expert name and credentials]

Date: [date]

Attestation: Prepared based on materials listed above. Opinions may be updated if additional materials are received. (Add "No personal examination performed; opinions limited accordingly" if applicable.)

(Do not infer facts not documented in the materials; label any reasonable assumptions explicitly. Separate verified facts from reported facts. Keep each opinion statement as a standalone sentence suitable for extraction into formal reports. Omit attorney mental impressions or legal strategy.)