What is the role of an expert witness in malpractice cases?

• A. Determine guilt
• B. Provide legal defense
• C. Establish how standards of care were broken and how a prudent health care provider would act
• D. Interpret patient feelings

Answer: (C)

In malpractice cases, the role of an expert witness is to articulate the standard of care and determine whether it was breached by the provider. They explain what a reasonably prudent health care professional would have done in similar circumstances, using established guidelines, textbooks, peer practice, and other accepted medical standards. The expert assesses whether the care given deviated from that standard and, when relevant, whether such deviation caused the patient’s injury. This helps the court decide if negligence occurred. The expert does not determine guilt, provide legal defense, or interpret patient emotions; those are outside the medical standard-of-care assessment.