8.01-581.4 - Submission of evidence to panel; depositions and discovery; duties of chairman; access to material.
§ 8.01-581.4. Submission of evidence to panel; depositions and discovery;duties of chairman; access to material.
The evidence to be considered by the medical review panel shall be promptlysubmitted by the respective parties, upon appointment of the panel, to eachmember of the panel in written form. Either party, upon request, shall begranted a hearing before the panel. The evidence may consist of medicalcharts, X-rays, laboratory tests, excerpts of treatises, and depositions ofwitnesses, including parties, and, when a hearing is held, oral testimonybefore the panel. The parties shall submit to the panel members only thoseportions of deposition transcripts, medical records, treatises and otherdocuments which are relevant to the claim. However, upon request of thejudge, a party shall produce all or part of any such document submitted. Atthe discretion of the judge, additional depositions of parties and witnessesmay be taken, or other additional discovery may be had, at any time prior tohearing by any party. The judge shall rule on the admissibility of all or anypart of a deposition offered as evidence at the hearing. Either party mayhave discovery pursuant to procedures set out in Part Four of the Rules ofthe Supreme Court of Virginia prior to appointment of the panel or thereafterin the discretion of the judge.
Process shall be returnable to the office of the clerk where the action wasfiled and shall issue under the style of the case as filed. Process fordiscovery shall issue upon application to the clerk. Any such discovery andany depositions taken for purposes of discovery or otherwise, under thissection, may be used in the action filed for any purpose otherwise properunder Part Four of the Rules of Court. The judge of the panel shall advisethe panel relative to any legal question involved in the review proceedingand shall prepare the opinion of the panel as provided in § 8.01-581.7. Allparties shall have full access to any material submitted to the panel.
(Code 1950, § 8-914; 1976, c. 611; 1977, c. 617; 1979, c. 261; 1984, c. 777;1986, c. 227; 1993, c. 928.)