Audio-visual depositions

(1) Authorization and Definitions Unless the court upon motion orders otherwise, any party intending to call a treating physician or expert witness at trial as that party's own witness may take the oral deposition of any such treating physician or expert witness by audio-visual means for the purpose of its being used as evidence at trial in lieu of oral testimony. Such depositions shall be known as "audio-visual expert witness depositions for trial." This rule 30A(m) does not apply to another party's treating physician or expert, discovery from whom is subject to the provisions of rule 26(b)(4)(A) or 26(b)(4)(B) . A "treating physician" is a physician who has provided medical treatment to a party or other person involved in the lawsuit, and who will be questioned about such treatment and matters related thereto. An "expert witness" is a person qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education to testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise. (2) Timing, Curriculum Vitae, and Report Except by leave of court, a notice for the taking of an audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial shall not be served (i) sooner than six (6) months after the action has been commenced, and (ii) until thirty (30) days after a written report of that witness has been furnished to all parties. Such report shall contain a curriculum vitae of that witness, shall cover the subjects described in rule 26(b)(4)(A)(i) , and, in the case of a treating physician, a description of the treatment and its costs. Any party may move for further discovery of that witness, to take place prior to the audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial, in accordance with Rule 26(b)(4)(A)(ii) . (3) Notice; Opposition In addition to the requirements of rule 30A(b), every notice for the taking of an audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial shall state that it is to be recorded by audio-visual means with the purpose of its being used as evidence at trial in lieu of oral testimony. Any motion in opposition to the taking of an audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial must be filed within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the notice or on or before the specified time for taking of the audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial, if such time is less than fourteen (14) days from receipt of the notice. The audio-visual expert witness deposition shall not occur until the court rules on the motion opposing the deposition. (4) Ruling on Objections; Editing of Recording When an audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial is taken, all evidential objections shall, to the extent practicable, be made during the course of the deposition. If any party has made objections during the course of the audio-visual expert witness deposition for trial, or has any objections to such deposition which would otherwise be made at trial, pursuant to rule 32(b) , such objections shall be filed with the trial judge or a motion judge, if the trial judge has not yet been designated, no later than twenty-one (21) days before the commencement of the trial. Objections not so submitted shall be deemed waived, except to the extent that events at the trial, which could not have reasonably been foreseen by the objecting party, necessitate an objection at trial. The nonobjecting party shall file a response to the submissions by the objecting party within fourteen (14) days of the receipt of the objecting party's submissions. Failure to respond to an objection shall constitute a waiver with respect thereto. The party making the objection shall be responsible for providing the judge with a stenographic record of the deposition, unless it is already on file at the court, and, if the judge requests, with the audio-visual recording or an audio copy of the sound track. For the purpose of ruling on the objections, the judge may utilize the entire stenographic record, audio-visual recording, or audio-tape recording, or those portions that are pertinent to the objections made. The judge shall rule on the objections prior to the commencement of trial or hearing and give notice to all parties of the rulings and instructions as to editing. The editing shall reflect the rulings of the judge and shall remove all references to the objections. The officer shall cause a copy of the audio-visual recording to be edited in accordance with the court's instructions. The officer shall then cause copies of the edited version thereof to be delivered to the parties who ordered them, and to the court, if so instructed by the court. The stenographic record, and the original audio-visual recording and the edited version thereof, if any, shall be preserved intact and unaltered. (5) Use at Trial Unless the court upon motion orders otherwise, an audio- visual expert witness deposition for trial may be used by any party for any purpose and under any circumstances in which a stenographic deposition may be used and, in addition, may be used at trial in lieu of oral testimony whether or not such witness is available to testify. (6) Applicability of Rule 30A(a)-(l) Except as altered by rule 30A(m), the provisions of rule 30A(a)-(l) shall apply to audio-visual expert witness depositions for trial.