A very experienced attorney called in a panic. He had been thrilled that a “defense orthopaedic surgeon” agreed to review his malpractice case. Upon questioning him pre-deposition about how he did the procedure at issue in the case, he replied, “Oh, I don’t do that procedure!”

This was a foot-and-ankle orthopaedic surgery case and this doctor was a general orthopaedic surgeon who, like many in his field, long ago stopped operating on feet (and ankles). The attorney almost put this expert up for deposition—after which he would have been precluded from replacing him. Luckily, he realized this…and avoided a legal malpractice claim.