Federal Magistrate Judge Rejects Expert's Fee
A New Jersey federal magistrate Judge has ruled that, despite a Neurosurgeon’s considerable qualifications, charging $7,000 for two hours of expert testimony is "near to being extortionate.”
The litigants in Crawford v. American Legion Ambulance Association, 08-cv-2338, will now only be held to having to pay $600 per hour when they depose the plaintiff's medical expert, the Nuerosurgeon referenced above.
The expert, John Ratliff, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in Philadelphia, normally charges $5,000 for the first hour of deposition and $2,000 for every hour thereafter.
What may be an even more bitter pill to swallow is the $12,000 per day Dr. Ratliff charges for trial testimony, which increases to $15,000 if the trial is out of state.
The attorney’s for the plaintiff in the Crawford case say that the fee set by the court is more than the $250 to $350 per hour courts typically allow for expert testimony. They are hopeful that Dr. Ratliff accepts the $600 rate, since the plaintiff may theoretically be responsible to make up the difference.
For more information about personal injury litigation please contact Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones, PLC attorney John Bahe directly at (502) 587-2002.
