Personal Injury Cases Strengthened with Use of Expert Witnesses
If you’ve been hurt in an accident and the responsible party refuses to settle for a reasonable amount, you may be faced with the prospect of going to trial in order to recover what you’re owed. Going to trial means gathering together all your strongest evidence to present to a judge and jury.
In addition to using eyewitnesses to testify on your behalf, your attorney may suggest that you also include expert witness testimony. Expert witnesses are individuals who have specialized in a particular field and can use that knowledge to interpret evidence in your case or present an educated opinion of what caused your accident.
Some experts you might see in a personal injury trial are:
Engineering Expert: Engineering experts can come with a wide variety of specialties, including engineers who can speak about whether or not a product was defectively designed or manufactured. Expert engineers can also provide testimony on whether a roadway or intersection was improperly designed or included insufficient signage, resulting in the accident which caused your injuries.
Medical Expert: A medical expert can provide helpful testimony interpreting your medical records for the court, explaining how the accident in question caused your injuries, or showing how the pain you’re experiencing is from the new injuries, not past incidents. Medical experts can also discuss your prognosis and prospects for recovery, as well as an opinion on the amount of pain your injuries would have caused you.
Accident Reconstruction Expert: Having a verbal description of the way in which an accident occurred can be useful, but it may not be as helpful as a visual model of the accident. Reconstruction experts can use physical evidence and testimony from an accident scene to create a computer model of the crash, allowing the jury to see for themselves how the accident occurred. These experts can also offer an opinion on who was at fault, and what drivers did immediately before the crash.
Economist: An economist can testify to the long-term expense of caring for the injuries you incurred, along with the loss in earning capacity that you might have experienced as a result of your injuries, and the inflation-adjusted expenses your family will incur over your lifetime in dealing with serious injuries.
If you have been hurt in a Kentucky accident, ensure that you’re fully compensated for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering by contacting the knowledgeable and dedicated personal injury attorneys at Davis & Haymond for a consultation, in Richmond at 859-624-3380, or Irvine at 606-726-9991.