Evidence and Testimony

A hearing shall be informal and the arbitrators shall be the sole judge of the relevancy and materiality of the evidence offered.

(a)The arbitrators may receive and consider evidence in the form of an affidavit, but shall give appropriate weight to any objections made. All documents to be considered by the arbitrators shall be filed at the hearing.

(b)Testimony shall be taken under oath and a record of the proceedings shall be made by a tape recording. Any party, at the party's expense, may have transcriptions or copies of the recording made or may provide for a written transcript of the proceedings. The costs of any transcription ordered by the panel for its own use shall be deemed part of the costs of the proceedings.

(c)Expert testimony shall not be required but where expert testimony is used, it shall be admitted under the same circumstances as in a civil trial and be subject to cross-examination.

(d)The party with the burden of establishing a standard of care and breach thereof shall establish such standards whether by the introduction of expert testimony, or by other competent proof of the standard and the breach thereof, which may include the use of published works as provided COL120106 CH. 10 MEDICAL M ALPRACTICE – MANDATORY ARBITRATION in subsection (e).

(e)Authoritative, published works on the general and specific subjects in issue may be admitted and argued from, upon prior notice to all other parties.

(f)The panel shall accord such weight and probative worth to expert evidence as it deems appropriate. The panel may call a neutral expert on its own motion, which expert witness shall be subject to cross-examination by the parties. The costs of the expert will be deemed a cost of the proceeding.