The Fourth District Court of Appeal Wednesday cautioned against using “trial by ambush” ploys, in its opinion on a personal injury case in which the plaintiff's expert witness was shown evidence for the first time during trial.

Though there were no surprise witnesses or pieces of evidence mid-trial, the appellate court found it wasn't fair for plaintiffs counsel to tell jurors what the expert's opinion was on a piece of evidence before the expert had actually reviewed it.

The plaintiffs had relied on the expert as the only witness to have compared two MRI scans, but in fact he'd only seen one of them when trial started, according to the opinion, which suggests Fort Lauderdale plaintiffs attorney Todd L. Baker of Steinger Iscoe & Greene tried to ”bolster his case” with undisclosed testimony, by waiting until the last minute to get it.