Most personal injury victims think once they sue an at-fault party, their insurer will automatically pay damages. Every personal injury claim is evidence-laden. If you cannot prove your case, you can end up with nothing, even when the other party is guilty.
“An expert witness is crucial evidence you need to build your case. They are professionals in a given field who offer insight into your accident’s circumstances. These experts help clarify things to insurers or the jury,” says personal injury attorney Jan Dils of Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law.
This article explains the crucial role of expert witnesses in a personal injury case.
Understanding Who an Expert Witness Is
An expert witness is a professional with specialized knowledge, training, skills, or experience in a field relevant to one’s personal injury case. They can knowledgeably contribute to the circumstances of your accident, which helps to clarify any discrepancies.
An expert witness testifies based on their professionalism, unlike an eyewitness, who testifies based on what they see or hear at an accident scene. Thus, you primarily contact the former for their expert opinion.
An expert witness may be from the engineering, accident reconstruction, finance, or medical field. Choose a highly experienced and credible expert witness to solidify your claim. You should select an individual who can help contextualize your case and point out the defendant’s malpractice from an unbiased expert’s standpoint.
Types of Expert Witnesses
There are different expert witnesses for a personal injury case. The one you contact will depend on your accident or injury. They include:
Accident Reconstruction Professional
An accident reconstruction expert recreates an accident through witness statements, pictures, and physical proof. They help define the context of an accident to understand how an incident happens and the negligent party who triggers it.
Vocational Experts
Vocational experts evaluate the impact of an injury on your ability to work. They will explain how the injury will affect your employability. For instance, they can testify that you may need a job change due to the severity of your injuries.
You may also need to undergo retraining to learn how to work with the injury. The financial responsibility for all of these should fall on the at-fault party’s shoulders.
Medical Professionals
Medical experts help diagnose harm, explain the prognosis, and highlight the needed treatment plans. A medical expert’s submission helps the jury understand the severity of an injury and its long-term implications on your life.
Economic Professionals
Economic professionals evaluate the financial value of an accident. They help calculate your lost earnings and how the accident hinders your future earning ability.
They help the jury or judge understand how the accident affects you economically. This information will help the jury determine the compensation amount to award.
The Impact of an Expert Witness on a Personal Injury Issue
An expert witness helps to strengthen and make your case more credible. You primarily bring them in when you want to deconstruct a seemingly complex issue. Thus, they help simplify complex matters and shed light on gray areas in a case.
Their specialized knowledge helps to resolve knotty issues. For instance, you can engage a medical expert to explain the severity of your injury, the treatment given, and the care you will need in the future.
In the same vein, an accident reconstructionist can evaluate the details of an accident to determine how it occurred and the guilty party’s role. An expert witness presents their findings via visual aids, direct testimony, and reports during the trial. Their submission must be objective, factual, and professional to achieve its intended purpose.
An expert witness’s testimony helps the judge or jury make an informed decision in your case. It is often the influencing factor in deciding liability and compensation amounts. Thus, when your personal injury attorney discovers that you have insufficient evidence, they may bring on an expert witness to give your case a professional touch.
Controversies and Challenges to Using an Expert Witness
Although expert witnesses are crucial to winning a personal injury case, they come with their own unique challenges. Knowing how to combat these challenges will help your case.
Since the plaintiff often engages the expert witness, they have the potential for bias. While their submissions should be objective and factual, sometimes they might lean toward the person who engages them.
Their services are often costly. When you add it to litigation costs, you may feel discouraged to engage them. Many stakeholders question the reliability of their testimonies. Hence, courts should not work with expert testimony without carefully examining it for reliability and relevance.
Concluding Remarks
Expert witnesses are crucial to the success of a personal injury claim. They dissect complex issues and help insurance firms and juries make informed decisions. They are an essential link in the search for justice.
However, your attorney can consult an expert witness because they know who best suits your case. It will help you avoid the aforementioned challenges and controversies.