In pharmaceutical and device litigation, the prescriber's testimony establishes what risks the physician knew, what information they relied on, and whether a different warning would have changed the prescribing decision.
Under the learned intermediary doctrine, the manufacturer's duty runs to the prescriber rather than the patient, making this testimony the causation link.
Alternative Names:
Prescriber Testimony, Treating Prescriber Deposition
Why it Matters?
This deposition is typically the single most consequential event in a prescription product case. A prescriber who testifies that they were aware of the risk and would have prescribed the product regardless defeats warning causation outright, regardless of any labeling inadequacy. Preparation matters accordingly: the examination should establish the physician's independent knowledge, their actual information sources, and their prescribing practice at the relevant time.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why is prescriber testimony decisive?
Is the prescriber a retained expert?
