Key Takeaway
New York appellate court rules that medical experts can testify about peer review findings based on medical records, reversing trial court's erroneous hearsay exclusion.
Expert Testimony and Medical Records: A Critical Evidence Ruling
Medical peer reviews are fundamental to no-fault insurance litigation, where insurance companies routinely challenge the necessity and reasonableness of medical treatments. When trial courts improperly exclude expert testimony based on peer reviews, it can derail an entire case and force costly retrials.
The Appellate Term’s decision in Kew Garden Imaging addresses a common but problematic trial court ruling that excluded medical expert testimony on questionable hearsay grounds. This case highlights the importance of understanding the proper foundation requirements for expert testimony based on medical records and the ongoing challenges healthcare providers face when insurance companies deploy peer review experts.
Jason Tenenbaum’s Analysis:
Kew Garden Imaging v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 2013 NY Slip Op 50748(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2013)
“The Civil Court precluded defendant’s medical witnesses from testifying on the ground that those doctors could not testify as to the contents of the medical records they had reviewed in preparing their peer reviews.
As defendant’s doctors should have been permitted to testify (see Park Slope Med. & Surgical Supply, Inc. v Travelers Ins. Co., 37 Misc 3d 19 ; Alrof, Inc. v Progressive Ins. Co., 34 Misc 3d 29 ; Urban Radiology, P.C. v Tri-State Consumer Ins. Co., 27 Misc 3d 140, 2010 NY Slip [*2]Op 50987 ), a new trial is required.”
Peer hearsay. The party that made the frivolous objection at trial should pay the cost for Defendant’s expert.
Key Takeaway
The Appellate Term correctly reversed a trial court’s exclusion of medical expert testimony based on peer reviews. Medical experts are permitted to testify about the contents of medical records they reviewed, as this forms the foundation of their professional opinions in no-fault litigation.
