Matthew A. Passen, attorney for theChicago personal Injury law firm of Passen & Powell, recently published an article in the Chicago Bar Association’s CBA Record magazine titled, “Courts Address Medical Societies’ Peer Review Authority: Professional Self-Regulation or Witness Intimidation?”
Mr. Passen addresses a number of legal and ethical issues surrounding the recent expansion of medical society peer-review programs designed to regulate expert witness testimony in medical malpractice lawsuits. Specifically, Mr. Passen addresses the following question: Do medical experts have any legal recourse when medical societies misuse their peer review authority to intimidate expert witnesses from testifying against their peers? Mr. Passen answers the question in the affirmative, arguing that if medical societies have the power to sanction medical experts for unethical medical testimony, such societies should not receive blanket immunity to engage in witness intimidation.