Fee Setting and the Expert Witness

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=160 BGCOLOR="#333333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03cdedc2ddualp.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D"><U><B>Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FAQs"><U><B>FAQs</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Dr. Silverman"><U><B>About Dr. Silverman</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id146.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great links"><U><B>Great links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Mind Reader© archive"><U><B>The Mind Reader© archive</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="03d64643.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#666633" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D</B></FONT>    |     <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D"><U>home</U></A></FONT></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> Fee Setting and the Expert Witness</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Just as each community has its own standard of care so each locale also has its usual and customary fee structure. Even within the State of Florida, insurance companies vary their definitions of usual and customary fees from one area to another. Mental health professionals are not bound by any specific rules as to how to establish these fees. However, it has been suggested that mental health professionals have similar fee structures for their time whether it be diagnosing or treating or offering expert consultation. Some psychologists choose to charge more for deposition time or court time than they do for psychotherapy. They reason that they must block large periods of time for these activities necessitating cancellation of patient appointments. Another reason is that deposition and court testimony can be more stressful than the therapeutic environment. </div> <bR> <div> As with some lawyers, some expert witnesses require a retainer to initiate work. This is especially the case when the expert is asked to travel outside of his/her geographic area. It is not unusual for the expert to have a prepared formal agreement citing fees for specific services, and method and timing of payment. The expert witness must prepare adequate documentation of his/her charges. Objective evidence of time on the case is a safeguard for ethical use of the expert. Remember, that an expert witness is paid for his/her time, not for his/her testimony.  Note that the expert witness usually does his/her own literature search and review. Fees for this activity are well spent. The mental health field is relatively young as a science and research findings change the state of the art.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>