Reasonable Fee for DC Testimony

As a chiropractic physician, you may treat patients who have been injured in accidents for which third parties are liable. If a patient has filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for injuries, you may one day receive a subpoena directing you as the treating physician to testify at a deposition or at the trial of the case. In some instances, the attorneys and the treating doctor agree to the date of appearance and the physician’s fee in advance. However, sometimes without advance notice, the attorney may simply serve a subpoena ordering the physician to appear at a certain place and time for a deposition or a trial. Sometimes this is the first communication to the treating doctor that s/he  is being ordered to testify; sometimes the date is very near, and often it conflicts with the doctor’s schedule.

In most cases, before serving a subpoena that requires the doctor to physically appear, the attorney will first serve a subpoena that requests the physician’s “deposition,” adding that the doctor may provide copies of medical records in lieu of a personal appearance. At that stage of the case, the attorney usually wants only to review the records and may not ultimately need the doctor’s testimony. (ICS members may get information on how to respond to this type of subpoena here). However, after reviewing the records, the attorney still may want to ask the treating physician additional questions in person. The attorney would then issue a subpoena for a personal appearance at a deposition or trial.