Why Do You Need That Expert Anyway?

Let’s say that your case is going along fine, and you call your lawyer and he or she says that to win your case, you need to hire an expert. You don’t understand why—you know what happened in your accident, you know how injured you are, you have medical records and people who will testify as to your injuries…why the need to hire and pay an expensive expert witness?

Personal Knowledge in Trial

To understand why experts are needed, you need to understand who can testify to what in a typical trial (any trial, not just accident trials).

In trial, people can only testify to things that they have personal knowledge about. That is, there is something about their history, background, or experience that gives them the ability to “know what they are talking about.”

Some things you don’t need an expert for. For example, you are qualified to testify as to your accident, your injuries and your recovery—they happened to you, and you were there, giving you the requisite background that you need.

Expert Testimony

But other times, your case may call for scientific, technical or specialized testimony, that you or your friends or family, cannot testify about.

So, for example, you can testify that your arm was broken and that it hurts every morning after your accident. But you cannot testify as to how it will heal, what procedures you will need in the future, or what disabilities you will have going forward—that’s something an expert doctor (preferably, your doctor) will testify to.

If you want to argue that a store didn’t inspect its aisles routinely enough to keep them clean, that’s something that you would need somebody with expertise in that area to testify to. Neither you, or your friends, or your lawyer, knows what the routine practice is or what the minimum safety standards are enough to legally say that in court.

Types of Experts

In almost every injury case that goes to trial, there is actually always one expert witness that almost every victim needs and uses: the victim’s own doctors. But experts can come in all fields, depending on the case.

If a truck was loaded improperly, that may take a freight and physics expert. If you want evidence as to weather conditions at the time of an accident, that may take an expert meteorologist. If you were attacked in a parking lot, you may need an expert on premises safety and security.

Your expert will consult with your attorney, and help your attorney prepare for the more technical or scientific things in the case that the attorney may not have as much of a background about.

Often, there are arguments about whether someone actually is a qualified expert, or whether the expert’s testimony can be admitted, especially if the expert will say things that aren’t widely accepted or which are controversial.

Will you need an expert to help you in your injury case? Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200 for questions and for help.

Sources:

expertinstitute.com/resources/insights/how-to-qualify-an-expert-witness-a-sample-voir-dire/

tmcec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Expert-Witness-from-Teacher-Traffic-Safety-Academy-2022-rev2-FINAL-6-29-22-3.pdf