Cross-Examination with Roger J. Dodd and Adam Slater (Dr. Fromer)

(02/24/21)
The focus of this program is Adam M. Slater’s cross-examination of lead defense expert Dr. Debra Fromer, a urogynecologist from Hackensack, New Jersey, the same town where the case was tried.

Dr. Fromer testified on direct that the Prolift was not defective, that the warnings were accurate, and that the cause of the plaintiff’s condition was not the Prolift. Also notable, before Dr. Fromer testified, the defense team told the Judge that Dr. Fromer would provide the key testimony to establish the applicability of the state-of-the-art defense, which is an absolute defense to liability if proven under New Jersey law. (In other states, state of the art is a risk-utility factor and not an absolute defense.) As a result of the cross-examination, the Court declined to charge state-of-the-art.