Opinion ID: 2370791
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Board Properly Allowed Simmons To Recover His Expert Witness Fees.

Text: The Board granted a fee of $3,200 for Simmons' medical expert, Dr. Davis. [19] Before the Board, Employer argued that that fee was greater than what the Board usually grants and should be reduced. Although Dr. Davis was being awarded more than what the Board customarily grants for medical witnesses, the Board concluded that Dr. Davis' difficult specialty (cardiothoracic surgery) merited a higher fee. Employer failed to produce any evidence that the $3,200 fee was unreasonable or out of proportion to the fees typically charged by such specialists in Delaware. Therefore no basis to alter the Board's award of Dr. Davis' fees has been shown. Zimmerman argues that 10 Del. C. § 8906 and Delaware case law create a presumptive range for the level of compensation of medical experts, and that Dr. Davis' fee fell outside that presumptive range. This argument is incorrect for two reasons. First, 10 Del. C. § 8906 applies only to witnesses in the Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Chancery. Fees for medical witnesses in workers' compensation cases are governed by Title 19. Second, before the Board Zimmerman made only a conclusory assertion that Davis' fee was excessive, and never referenced 10 Del. C. § 8906. As a result, this argument was also waived.