Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog

I had the opportunity last night to read an article written by Prince George's County, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Thomas P. Smith entitled "Alice in Discovery Land (A Practical Guide to Recurrent Discovery Problems)" that appeared years ago in Maryland Litigator, a periodical which I believe no longer exists. There are a lot of interesting points to made by Judge Smith. Reading his article reminds me that an article like this allows a lawyer to be included in the thoughts of judge in the same way a focus group provides a lens for a personal injury lawyer to a potential jury. Both are engaged in thought processes that a lawyer thinks he or she can decipher, but it is often more difficult than they realize. Because a lawyer cannot hire a focus group of judges every time you file an important motion, they next best thing an attorney can do is read whatever you can find by practicing judges on discovery issues to get a better insight into their thinking.

I found of particular interest Judge Smith's thoughts on "Independent" Medical Exams ("IME"). "Of all the oxymorons in the world," Judge Smith writes, "an Independent Medical Examination occupies first place by thousands of leagues. These is nothing independent about the process; it is hardly undertaken for any medical purpose and all to often resembles an inquisition rather than an examination." This sounds obvious to the plaintiff's personal injury lawyer but it is good to here this sentiment from a well respected judge.

The article addresses a number of issues that we have debated with defense lawyers of late: location of the exam, the general conditions of the exam, including who can be present, whether the exam can be videotaped, and issues related to dealing with what we call "frequent flyer" defense experts.