LM328 - A Forensic Audiology Airbag Case: Presentation and Role Play

Abstract:
The panel will discuss and role-play the audiologist’s legal engagement from the first phone call to the final verdict of an automobile airbag deployment case. This first segment overviews the civil legal case process, retention, complaint, and written discovery, including the writing of a legally presentable expert witness report. Each section guides participants through various encounters an expert witness should anticipate when addressing the court and counsel. The addition of role-playing between counsels and experts is helpful for newcomers and seasoned professionals; it is especially useful for aspiring students looking toward their professional future.

Summary:
Initially, there will be a brief review of the audiologist’s role in civil case procedure. The presentation will use a combination of slides, discussion, and role-playing to demonstrate how a doctoral-level audiologist can perform in the legal arena. Legal cases start with the retention, followed by the complaint, records review and interrogatories, and an expert report. Specific demonstrations and instructions will be provided for each area, from understanding the case design, language to use, completeness, methods and science, and opinions. The panel will also discuss how to avoid and respond to challenges concerning errors, omissions, and scientific methods.

The process of retention by an attorney begins with an initial phone call with the expert. A role-playing session on the correct and incorrect interactions during this initial phone call will be presented and demonstrated, including the case overview, the engagement (expert or consultant), the timetable for various milestones of the case, and documents. The panel will present ways to accept a case, decline a case, or refer a case to a colleague with a different expertise or specialty. The Complaint. The discussion and role-play of the complaint consist of the essentials of the legal document, what it can tell the expert about the case, and how to interact with the attorney regarding the complaint, regardless of whether the hiring attorney represents the plaintiff or the defense.

The panel will discuss how to digest and report the case records. This is important because this guides the development of opinions, which are the reason for being engaged. There will be a detailed discussion of a forensic audiologist's duties and role in the development of the case, such as the types of medical and legal documents for review, including written and oral statements by the parties, lay witnesses, professionals, and the courts. The role play will be the forensic audiologist’s input into how to proceed with the case or how to tell the attorney that they have no case.

The function of the interrogatories is for each side of the case to gain all the information available as a part of the discovery process. The purpose, value, and investigation of the interrogatories are presented, and the correct and incorrect responses of the forensic audiology to the attorney are conducted with role play.

A brief discussion of the components of the expert report and a role play as to its important sections and attorney discussions.

A discussion of the history of the Daubert regulation, what it is, what it means, and why. The role play for a Daubert challenge describes specific reasons for the history of the Daubert regulation governing expert witness testimony, what it is, what it means, and why it can be a career-ending event for the expert. The role play for a Daubert challenge will specifically reasons for a challenge from opposing counsel and what the expert’s rebuttal to the challenge should include.

Brief Summary of Clinical Takeaways:
The non-clinical takeaway from this session is that forensic audiology will require some training, but the practice is similar to other specialized areas of the profession, requiring preparation, expertise, and clinical experience. Working as an audio vestibular expert elevates the profession of audiology to the level of other doctoring disciplines.