(A) Health Care Provider. If one side identifies a treating health care provider as its expert witness and provides a report from the provider using Appendix 2, any party against whom the report may be used has the right to cross-examine the provider by taking the provider’s deposition. The designating side may also examine the provider at the deposition.
§ 6-2205.Expert witness depositions.
Article 22: Rules for County Court Expedited Civil Actions · Last amended January 1, 2022 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentence§ 6-2205 gives any party the right to depose an opposing expert, including a treating health care provider who submitted a report, and splits the deposition costs and provider fees between sides in proportion to how much of the deposition each side used.
Full Text of § 6-2205
(B) Cost. The side taking the deposition is responsible for the costs of taking the deposition, including the payment of a reasonable fee to the health care provider for the time spent being deposed. If the side providing the report also examines the provider, the side shall be responsible for a proportionate share of the costs and fees. Unless the parties stipulate or the court orders otherwise, each side’s proportionate share shall be the percentage calculated by dividing the number of deposition pages attributable to the side’s examination of the provider by the total number of deposition pages. Each side shall pay its percentage share of deposition costs and provider fees.
Amendment History
§ 6-2205 adopted December 8, 2021, effective January 1, 2022.
Plain-English Summary
§ 6-2205 makes sure disclosure of an expert does not end the story — the other side can still test that testimony by deposition. If a side offers a treating health care provider’s report under § 6-2204’s Appendix 2 shortcut, any party the report could be used against has the right to cross-examine that provider by taking a deposition, and the side that offered the report can examine the provider there too.
Cost-sharing follows use, not who asked for the deposition. The side taking the deposition generally pays for it, including a reasonable fee to the provider for time spent being deposed. But if the side that submitted the report also questions the provider at that same deposition, each side pays its proportionate share, calculated, absent an agreement or court order otherwise, by dividing the deposition pages attributable to each side’s questioning by the total page count. Other experts, beyond treating providers, can be deposed by either side once the § 6-2204 disclosures are served, and if the side that did not retain the expert takes that deposition, it pays the expert’s reasonable fee.
Finally, the rule addresses using a deposition at trial in place of live testimony. It treats the expedited nature of these actions as an exceptional circumstance under Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-332(a)(3)(E), the standard required before an expert’s deposition can be used at trial instead of calling the expert live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I depose the other side’s treating health care provider who submitted a report?
Yes. Any party against whom the report may be used has the right to cross-examine the provider by taking their deposition.
Who pays for an expert witness deposition in an expedited civil action?
The side taking the deposition is generally responsible for the costs, including a reasonable fee to the expert for time spent being deposed.
How is the cost split if both sides question the same health care provider at the deposition?
Unless the parties stipulate or the court orders otherwise, each side pays its proportionate share, calculated by dividing that side’s deposition pages by the total number of pages.
Can I use an expert’s deposition transcript at trial instead of live testimony?
Yes. The rule treats the expedited nature of these actions as an exceptional circumstance allowing an expert deposition to be used at trial under Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-332(a)(3)(E).
When can I take a non-treating expert’s deposition?
Either side may depose any other expert witness after the § 6-2204 expert disclosures have been served.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Nebraska. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
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