Health Science Center

Health Science Center Outside Employment as Expert Witness

The principles drawn from these sources provide guidance in determining whether a Health Science Center faculty member or other employee should engage in outside employment as an expert witness. Situations of actual or potential conflict are discussed below.

A. The following situations represent unacceptable conflicts between the duties and responsibilities of the faculty member or other employee and outside employment as an expert witness. A request for outside employment under these circumstances, therefore, will not be approved.

• A Health Science Center faculty member or other employee shall not be engaged as an expert witness to testify on behalf of a patient if the faculty member or other employee has participated in that patient's care. If the faculty member or other employee has evaluated or treated the patient as an employee of the University, he/she may not benefit privately by being hired as an expert witness because of the prior relationship. On the other hand, there is no conflict if the faculty member or other employee gives compelled testimony concerning the patient when the faculty member or other employee does so in the capacity of a University of Florida employee. Any fees generated by virtue of providing such testimony are the property of the faculty member or other employee's college.
• A faculty member or other employee shall not be engaged as an expert witness to testify against the interests of the employer, the University of Florida or the Board of Education. Therefore, outside employment as an expert witness must be denied if the faculty member or other employee will be testifying against the Board of Education or an employee of the Board or Education with regard to care rendered within the University of Florida Health Science Center programs or the University of South Florida Health Science Center programs. A similar conflict precludes engagement as an expert witness against institutions which represent major affiliations to the University of Florida Health Science Center - e.g., Shands Healthcare Hospitals; University Medical Center,Jacksonville; Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville; Wolfson Children's Hospital,Jacksonville; Health First of Melbourne; Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola; and North Broward Hospital District, Fort Lauderdale.
• In order to prevent a conflict as described in paragraph 2, a faculty member or other employee should not be engaged as an expert witness when one of the litigants has been treated by a Health Science Center faculty member or other employee if the treatment or condition treated is at issue in the case.

B. The following situations present potential conflicts between University employment and the outside employment. These must be carefully reviewed by the Chair or Supervisor and the Dean, and, if granting permission to a faculty member or other employee pursuing the outside employment would impede the full and faithful discharge of the faculty member's or other employee's duties, the employment must be declined. To allow for informed decision making when considering employment under the following circumstances, a faculty member or other employee shall be notified by the Dean or his/her designee if an outside activities request involves the circumstances which follow:

• Even if a major affiliation is not involved, a faculty member or other employee should carefully consider the ramifications of engaging in outside employment as an expert witness when that employment would be adverse to the interests of individuals or institutions which are formally affiliated or which are actively negotiating a formal affiliation with a college within the University of Florida Health Science Center.
• A Health Science Center faculty member or other employee should carefully consider the ramifications of engaging in outside employment as an expert witness when another faculty member or other employee has been or is to be engaged as an expert witness on the opposing side. In general, a faculty member is free to evaluate the case on its own merits in determining whether he or she will seek permission for outside employment as an expert witness even though another faculty member or other employee has already agreed to serve in that role for either party to the lawsuit.

C. Faculty members may be asked to engage in outside employment in actions which are not described in Section A and B of this protocol by attorneys who are nonetheless actively prosecuting other litigation against the Board of Education, the University of Florida, faculty members of the Health Science Centerand/or private affiliates of the Health Science Center at the time of their offer of employment. A faculty member or other employee shall be informed by the Administrator of such circumstances when such an outside activities request is made. A faculty member or other employee should carefully consider the impact such outside employment may have on the programs of the Health Science Center and/or his/her Health Science Center colleagues prior to accepting such offers of employment.

D. In all cases when outside employment as an expert witness is allowed, the faculty member or other employee "must take reasonable precautions to ensure that the outside employer or other recipient of services understands that the employee is engaging such outside activity as a private citizen and not as an employee, agent, or spokesperson of the University" (Rule 6C1-1.011 (1) (f), F.A.C.). The Board of Education/University of Florida does not provide professional liability protection for faculty members or other employees for outside employment activities.

E.The following guidelines and procedures will expedite the review of outside activity requests.

• Each college may provide the UF Self-Insurance Program with a list of affiliations with individuals of institutions which the college deems would be jeopardized if a Health Science Center faculty member or other employee testified against the interests of the individual or affiliate. In the absence of such a list, the Administrator will rely upon the list of contracts and affiliations which is periodically provided by the Office of Assistant Vice President for Contracts and Affiliation Management Services in making recommendations to the dean.
• A Health Science Center faculty member or other employee who wishes to engage in outside employment should read and follow the requirements of Rule 6C1-1.011. When an employment opportunity triggers this policy, the UF Outside Activities and Financial Interests Report form completed by the faculty member or other employee shall be reviewed by his/her chair or supervisor, and if approved, shall be forwarded to the Administrator of the UF Self-Insurance Program. A proficient review by the chair/supervisor and the Administrator are dependent on the information provided which should include the complete names of the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s), the entity requesting the employment and whom it represents. A copy of correspondence from the prospective outside employer describing the proposed employment will often expedite the review process. The Administrator of the Self-Insurance Program or his/her designee will then review the form to determine if other Health Center personnel may be involved and to ensure that the request does not breach the Rule or this policy and make a recommendation to the college Dean to either approve or deny the request. If the recommendation is to deny the requested employment, the Administrator shall define the basis/bases for his/her recommendation.
• At the discretion of a chair,supervisor or dean, requests to engage in outside employment other than those specifically addressed by this policy may be submitted to the Administrator of the Self-Insurance Program for the purposes of evaluating such requests for possible conflicts of interest. The Administrator or his/her designee shall confer with the Office of General Counsel as he/she deems necessary.

revised July, 2001

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