U.S. federal courts
Physician expert witness rates, set by federal courts
When a physician's expert fee gets challenged — a Rule 26(b)(4)(E) motion, a meet-and-confer letter calling the number unreasonable — the rates that carry weight are the ones judges have already put in writing. This page is that record: hourly rates U.S. federal courts set, reduced, or approved for testifying physicians in civil cases, one value per named expert, each verified against the order's own language. Specialists get their own pages where the corpus is deep enough; this band is every physician, all specialties.
Court-determined hourly rates
| 25th percentile | $400 |
| Median | $500 |
| 75th percentile | $750 |
| 90th percentile | $1,015 |
Rates experts disclosed in filings — not court determinations
| 25th percentile | $529 |
| Median | $750 |
| 75th percentile | $1,125 |
| 90th percentile | $1,500 |
Since 2015: median $500/hr over 28 values (26 named experts, 2 unnamed), drawn from 55 rate determinations (26 of these are the replicated order noted above, counted as one value).
From the record
Three of the determinations behind this band, described the way the exhibit cites them — the exhibit itself names the experts, quotes the orders, and links each one to the public court document it came from:
- spinal surgery · E.D. Wis. · Dec. 2025 · $1,500/hr · court set
- orthopedic surgery · S.D.N.Y. · Nov. 2025 · $500/hr · court set (two determinations)
The band above is free and stays free. The exhibit is the version you hand to counsel: your rate placed among the band's 48 values — one per named expert, plus the values from unnamed-expert determinations — with the percentile stated, the qualifying orders quoted and cited, and every citation linked to the public court document it came from. Prepared for your rate and setting, delivered to your inbox in minutes.
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