{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/8.01-401.2.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/8.01-401.2.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/8.01-401.2.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/8.01-401.2.html"}],"law_id":62896,"edition_id":1,"section_id":62896,"structure_id":13957,"section_number":"8.01-401.2","catch_line":"Chiropractor, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or optometrist as expert witness","history":"1984, c. 569; 2014, cc. 361, 391; 2015, cc. 295, 306; 2017, c. 413; 2023, c. 183; 2024, cc. 718, 764.","full_text":"A\n\nA doctor of chiropractic, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of the practice of chiropractic as defined in § 54.1-2900.B\n\nA physician assistant or an advanced practice registered nurse, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of his activities as authorized pursuant to § 54.1-2952 or 54.1-2957, respectively. However, no physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse shall be permitted to testify as an expert witness for or against (i) a defendant doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine in a medical malpractice action regarding the standard of care of a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine or (ii) a defendant health care provider in a medical malpractice action regarding causation.C\n\nAn optometrist, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of the practice of optometry as defined in § 54.1-3201.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":229453,"text":"A doctor of chiropractic, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of the practice of chiropractic as defined in § 54.1-2900.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":229454,"text":"A physician assistant or an advanced practice registered nurse, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of his activities as authorized pursuant to § 54.1-2952 or 54.1-2957, respectively. However, no physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse shall be permitted to testify as an expert witness for or against (i) a defendant doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine in a medical malpractice action regarding the standard of care of a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine or (ii) a defendant health care provider in a medical malpractice action regarding causation.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":229455,"text":"An optometrist, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of the practice of optometry as defined in § 54.1-3201.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"ancestry":[{"id":13957,"edition_id":1,"name":"Witnesses Generally","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12870,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:25","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:25","permalink":{"id":277427,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13957,"identifier":"4","token":"8.01\/14\/4","url":"\/8.01\/14\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12870,"edition_id":1,"name":"Evidence","identifier":"14","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12747,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:57","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:57","permalink":{"id":277357,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12870,"identifier":"14","token":"8.01\/14","url":"\/8.01\/14\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12747,"edition_id":1,"name":"Civil Remedies and Procedure","identifier":"8.01","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":277029,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12747,"identifier":"8.01","token":"8.01","url":"\/8.01\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":74141,"structure_id":13957,"section_number":"8.01-396","catch_line":"No person incompetent to testify by reason of interest, or because a party","url":"\/8.01-396\/","token":"8.01\/14\/4\/8.01-396","metadata":false},{"id":86691,"structure_id":13957,"section_number":"8.01-396.1","catch_line":"Competency of witness","url":"\/8.01-396.1\/","token":"8.01\/14\/4\/8.01-396.1","metadata":false},{"id":69399,"structure_id":13957,"section_number":"8.01-396.2","catch_line":"Minor witness; 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hearsay exception (subsection (a) of Supreme Court Rule 2:703, subsection (a) of Supreme Court Rule 2:705, and subsection (a) of Supreme Court Rule 2:706 derived from this section)","url":"\/8.01-401.1\/","token":"8.01\/14\/4\/8.01-401.1","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":59359,"structure_id":13957,"section_number":"8.01-401.2:1","catch_line":"Podiatrist as an expert witness","url":"\/8.01-401.2_1\/","token":"8.01\/14\/4\/8.01-401.2_1","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/8.01-401.2\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1984. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 569 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1984 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 5 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2014, chapters 361<\/a> and 391<\/a>; in 2015, chapters 295<\/a> and 306<\/a>; in 2017, chapter 413<\/a>; in 2023, chapter 183<\/a>; in 2024, chapters 718<\/a> and 764<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":77494,"section_number":"54.1-2952","catch_line":"Role of patient care team physician or patient care team podiatrist on patient care teams; services that may be performed by physician assistants; responsibility of licensee; employment of physician assistants","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-2952\/"},{"id":64164,"section_number":"54.1-2957","catch_line":"Licensure and practice of advanced practice registered nurses; certified nurse midwives; independent practice of certified nurse midwives","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-2957\/"},{"id":72925,"section_number":"54.1-3201","catch_line":"What constitutes practice of optometry","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-3201\/"}],"permalink":{"id":277477,"object_type":"law","relational_id":62896,"identifier":"8.01-401.2","token":"8.01\/14\/4\/8.01-401.2","url":"\/8.01-401.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/8.01-401.2\/","token":"8.01\/14\/4\/8.01-401.2","dublin_core":{"Title":"Chiropractor, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or optometrist as expert witness","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 8.01-401.2","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> A doctor of chiropractic, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness<\/span> in a court<\/span> of law<\/span> as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of the practice of chiropractic as defined in § 54.1-2900<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> A physician assistant or an advanced practice registered nurse, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness<\/span> in a court<\/span> of law<\/span> as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of his activities as authorized pursuant to § 54.1-2952<\/a> or 54.1-2957<\/a>, respectively. However, no physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse shall be permitted to testify as an expert witness<\/span> for or against (i) a defendant<\/span> doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine in a medical malpractice action<\/span> regarding the standard of care of a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine or (ii) a defendant<\/span> health care provider in a medical malpractice action<\/span> regarding causation. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> An optometrist, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness<\/span> in a court<\/span> of law<\/span> as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of the practice of optometry as defined in § 54.1-3201<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nCHIROPRACTOR, PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSE, OR\nOPTOMETRIST AS EXPERT WITNESS (\u00a7 8.01-401.2)\n\nA. A doctor of chiropractic, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert\nwitness in a court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment,\ntreatment plan, and disability, including anatomical, physiological, and\npathological considerations within the scope of the practice of chiropractic as\ndefined in § 54.1-2900.\n\nB. A physician assistant or an advanced practice registered nurse, when properly\nqualified, may testify as an expert witness in a court of law as to etiology,\ndiagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan, and disability, including\nanatomical, physiological, and pathological considerations within the scope of\nhis activities as authorized pursuant to § 54.1-2952 or 54.1-2957,\nrespectively. However, no physician assistant or advanced practice registered\nnurse shall be permitted to testify as an expert witness for or against (i) a\ndefendant doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine in a medical malpractice\naction regarding the standard of care of a doctor of medicine or osteopathic\nmedicine or (ii) a defendant health care provider in a medical malpractice\naction regarding causation.\n\nC. An optometrist, when properly qualified, may testify as an expert witness in\na court of law as to etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, treatment plan,\nand disability, including anatomical, physiological, and pathological\nconsiderations within the scope of the practice of optometry as defined in\n§ 54.1-3201.\n\nHISTORY: 1984, c. 569; 2014, cc. 361, 391; 2015, cc. 295, 306; 2017, c. 413;\n2023, c. 183; 2024, cc. 718, 764.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}