Hanks v. Ranson, Swan & Burch, Ltd.

I do not agree that a physician, who was not a party to the litigation, can be required to give his professional opinion on a hypothetical situation in a discovery deposition in anticipation of trial.

Under these circumstances, the physician is not a “person” within the contemplation of Article 1436 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Pretrial discovery was not intended to permit a party to call a physician, not a party to the litigation, and propound a series of hypothetical questions to him, based upon an assumed state of facts, and require his expert opinion in reply. Beirne v. Fitch…