On Nov. 23, the Board of Directors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) approved the recommendation of the Professional Conduct Committee that the AANS membership of Robert W. Rand, MD, be suspended for one year for his unprofessional conduct while testifying as a plaintiff’s expert in a professional liability case.
Dr. Rand had neither practiced pediatric neurosurgery nor treated head-injured children since 1989, but he testified that the standard of care in 1997 required the early administration of corticosteroids (Decadron) in acute head injury cases and that had such steroids been given, the patient (who died with a severe case of diffuse cerebral edema), most likely would have recovered from his head injury.
The Professional Conduct Committee found, and the Board of Directors concurred, that Dr. Rand’s testimony regarding the use of high-dose corticosteroids in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) was completely contrary to the conclusions of the Brain Trauma Foundation’s head injury guidelines task force, which thoroughly researched the pertinent literature and concluded that corticosteroids have been demonstrated to be ineffective in the treatment of TBI. During the hearing Dr. Rand admitted that he had not read the guidelines, which had been approved by the AANS Guidelines and Outcomes Committee and the AANS Board of Directors, before he testified in the underlying suit.
Dr. Rand’s testimony was flagrantly unprofessional and demonstrated his lack of subject matter knowledge as well as his failure to do the necessary research to correct his lack of knowledge before testifying. Dr. Rand’s testimony violated the AANS Code of Ethics and the Expert Witness Guidelines. See Neuro News.