Although expert witnesses are not necessary for every personal injury case, in disputes involving severe injuries and large amounts of monetary damages, the testimony of experts will likely be needed.
How These Professionals Help Maximize Recovery
To recover from the injuries you sustained after an accident in a personal injury case, more than just your word alone will be necessary. You will need witnesses who can attest to your injuries and connect them to the accident.
But not all witnesses are created equal. Expert witnesses are professionals who are qualified to offer testimony that is more credible and detailed than the average person involved in the case, including attorneys, who have a vested interest in representing the interests of their own clients.
Types of Expert Witnesses
One or more of the following types of experts are used to offer testimony in Colorado personal injury cases when the contested issue they can help clarify is particularly important to the outcome of the case:
- Consulting experts will explain and clarify the key issues of the case, helping the attorney understand them more clearly. Although personal injury attorneys are experienced in many of the medical and technical aspects of accident cases, they are not trained medical doctors or physicists, which is why they bring in experts on these complex matters.
- Medical experts are very useful when attempting to relate a plaintiff’s injuries to the accident in question. Medical experts are not typically the injured person’s regular or primary care physicians; instead, they conduct their examinations after the case begins, are qualified to offer independent reports about the victim’s injuries, and have the ability to give an opinion regarding whether or not future medical treatment will be necessary, along with the cost associated with this treatment.
- Mental health experts are qualified to testify about how the accident has impacted the mental and emotional health of the injured party. A mental health expert’s testimony can be used to support claims for accident-related post-traumatic stress disorder, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and the emotional trauma of living with a temporary or permanent disability.
- Economic experts testify regarding how the injury has affected the plaintiff’s ability to earn a living, pay their expenses, and live a functional life. Economic experts can put a number on things like the value of future wages the injured party would have earned but not for the injury, critical testimony in a claim for lost wages and reduced or diminished earning capacity.
- Accident reconstruction experts help law enforcement personnel and lawyers reconstruct automobile collisions with the use of drawings, models, and computer software. They are also often able to determine how fast the vehicles were moving and the force and direction of the impact, factors that can help connect the accident to the victim’s injuries.
Importance of Experts in Personal Injury Cases
Although expert witnesses are not necessary for every personal injury case, in complex disputes or those involving severe injuries and large amounts of monetary damages, the testimony of experts with scientific, technical, economic, or some other kind of specialized expertise will likely be needed to help bolster the claim and provide the proof needed to obtain maximum compensation.
Typically, the more complicated a personal injury case is, the more expert testimony will be necessary. If expert testimony is not provided when appropriate, the injured person’s recovery may be extremely limited, since damages cannot be awarded for injuries that are not described, documented, or quantified.
If you’ve been injured in an automobile accident and need expert legal assistance to build a strong and viable case, contact Colorado personal injury attorney Daniel R. Rosen.