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Do you know why we would call your treating doctor as the first witness to come and testify
in your medical malpractice case here in the state of New York? Would you like to learn
the answer? Come join me as I share with you that answer. Hi. I’m Gerry Oginski. I’m
a New York medical malpractice and personal injury trial attorney practicing law here
in the state of New York. When we bring a medical malpractice lawsuit we are required
to prove your case by a preponderance of evidence. What does that mean? It means that we have
to show that we’re more likely right than wrong that what we are claiming is true. Now
one of the best ways to do that is by putting the doctor that you have sued on the witness
stand first in order to present to the jury information that exactly what happened here.
Now a lot of people think “Hey, I’m the injured victim, the jury should hear from
me first because I’m the one who went through this problem. I can tell them exactly what
happened.” Well that is true, but however, let me suggest why bringing in the doctor
that you are suing as the first witness tends to be a much better practice – and here’s
why. When I bring the doctor in and have him take the witness stand, a number of things
are going to happen. Number one, I’m going to be able to get all of your medical records
admitted into evidence. Number two, I want to be able to ask the doctor exactly what
problems you presented with. I want the jury to understand what complaints you made. I
want him, based upon the records he has in front of him, to determine exactly why you
where there and what tests and evaluations he did in order to evaluate your particular
problem. I then want the jury to know from the doctor’s own words and records exactly
what his treatment plan was, what his thinking was, so now we can proceed forward. After
the doctor leaves the witness stand, whoever else I bring to the witness stand to testify
will now be able to use that original information – that’s the foundation upon which the
entire case will be built. Because now when I bring in medical experts, that original
doctor’s testimony is already in evidence. Now our experts will be able to base their
conclusions upon information that’s already in front of the jury, that’s already in
evidence. So that’s a key strategic reason why we often will bring in your treating doctor
– the doctor you are suing – as the very first witness at trial. So why do I share
this information with you? I share with you to give you an insight and an understanding
into how these types of malpractice cases work here in New York. If you have legal questions,
what I encourage you to do is pick up the phone and call me. I can answer legal questions.
I do this every single day and I welcome your call. You can reach me at 516-487-8207 or
by email at lawmed10@yahoo.com. I’m Gerry Oginski, here in New York. Thanks for watching.