A treating physician diagnosed or treated the patient and may testify about observations, diagnosis, causation, and prognosis formed during treatment. Disclosure obligations are lighter than for retained experts.
Opinions formed for litigation rather than treatment may require full expert disclosure.
Alternative Names:
Treater, Attending Physician
Why it Matters?
Treating physicians carry more credibility with juries than retained experts because they had a therapeutic rather than litigation relationship, which makes their deposition consequential. The scope boundary is where disputes arise: opinions formed during treatment fall within the lighter disclosure rule, while causation opinions developed at counsel's request for litigation generally require full expert disclosure. Establishing when and why an opinion was formed is the productive line of questioning.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What can a treating physician testify about?
Why are treating physicians persuasive?
