How Engagement Works

Step 1: The conflict check (before anything else)

The first contact is a request for a conflict check through the inquiry form or by telephone. It needs only the names of the parties, the treating physicians and facilities, and opposing counsel. Those names are screened against prior and current engagements and treatment relationships. Until the check clears, no case facts are discussed in detail and no records are sent. A conflict discovered after records have been shared can disqualify the expert and waste the work already done, which is why this step is never skipped.

Step 2: Scope, role and fee terms in writing

Once conflicts are cleared, counsel receives the fee schedule together with proposed engagement terms, before any commitment is made. The written engagement fixes three things: whether Dr. Shomer is retained as a consulting expert (advising counsel confidentially, generally not disclosed) or as a testifying expert (disclosed, producing discoverable reports and sworn testimony); the questions to be answered, such as standard of care, causation, impairment or prognosis; and the deliverables, from verbal impressions to a written report, deposition or trial testimony. Fees are not contingent on the outcome of the matter, which preserves the independence of the opinions.

Step 3: Secure transfer of records

Secure transfer instructions are provided after the engagement is signed. Records and protected health information should never be attached to the initial inquiry. The most useful first packet is short: a one to two page summary from counsel, the core ophthalmic records (office notes, operative reports and imaging) and the key dates. The complete chart, prior records that establish baseline vision, and diagnostic imaging in native digital format follow once the scope is agreed. The full checklist is at What Records to Provide.

Step 4: The review

Dr. Shomer reads the complete record himself, interprets the imaging in native format, and researches the applicable literature. Where an examination is appropriate, it is scheduled at the Upland, California office or arranged elsewhere; record review is performed remotely for matters nationwide. A preliminary review of the core records often answers the questions that shape strategy: whether the claimed loss is documented objectively, whether the timeline of findings fits the alleged mechanism, and whether pre-existing disease complicates causation. An early answer that the records do not support a theory is delivered as candidly as one that they do.

Step 5: The report

A written report, when one is requested, sets out the records reviewed, the findings, the reasoning from evidence to conclusion, the alternative explanations considered, and the limits of what the record allows. Opinions are held to a reasonable degree of medical probability; those that cannot be supported are not offered. The structure of a rigorous report is described in Anatomy of an Ophthalmic Medical-Legal Report.

Step 6: Deposition and trial

Dr. Shomer provides deposition and courtroom testimony in addition to written reports and has done so for more than 13 years. Whether testimony is anticipated should be stated at engagement, because testifying and consulting roles carry different disclosure consequences. See Deposition and Trial Testimony.

Timing

A review can begin as soon as the conflict check clears and records are received. Overall turnaround depends on record volume and on whether imaging has to be obtained in native format, so early engagement gives the most flexibility ahead of disclosure deadlines. Reviews frequently identify missing records that must then be subpoenaed, a cycle that can add weeks; building that time in is far better than compressing everything into the final month. Guidance on sequencing is at How to Retain an Ophthalmology Expert.

California workers’ compensation matters

Qualified Medical Evaluator and Agreed Medical Evaluator evaluations follow the procedures set by the Division of Workers’ Compensation rather than a private engagement letter: panel assignment, the exchange of records, the examination and the report timelines are all governed by statute and regulation. Those steps are described at California QME Ophthalmologist and answered in the QME FAQs.

Frequently Asked Questions