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How Can an Expert Witness Help My Personal Injury Case?

A form for personal injury

If you’ve been injured in an accident, there may be no question that the injuries you experienced were caused by the other party’s careless or reckless behavior. Sometimes, however, accident claims become more complex, and higher-value claims will often result in being harder-fought by the party accused of being at fault. When this is the case, your claims may require more extensive evidence than simply your testimony and the presentation of your medical expenses or damages to property.

Should your personal injury claim fail to reach a settlement agreement, your attorney will need to take your case to trial, possibly before a jury. In order to support contested claims with the best evidence available, attorneys will often make use of what are known as expert witnesses—individuals who possess highly specialized knowledge in a particular field, and can apply that knowledge to the facts of your case to offer an opinion on what happened, who was responsible, and what amount the injured person is owed for their injuries.

Experts exist in many fields, but ones you’d be most likely to encounter in a personal injury trial include:

Medical expert: A medical expert—possibly your own treating physician—will use your medical records to explain your injuries to the jury, including why the at-fault party’s actions caused your injuries, and the extent of those injuries. This expert can also explain the amount of pain and suffering you likely experienced based on those injuries, as well as the amount of time and treatment that will be required to recover from those injuries.

Economic expert: Sometimes the amount of damages requested in a personal injury suit can sound unreasonably high when presented without explanation. An economic expert can break down the requested amount of damages so that the jury understands their basis, including by showing the amount of wages you can anticipate losing over the course of your lifetime due to the injuries, and your lifelong anticipated costs for future medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Accident reconstruction expert: Having an accident described in words is not nearly as helpful to a jury as being able to see what happened for themselves. With the use of advanced software and physical and photographic evidence from an accident, accident reconstruction experts can create visual models that can be played for the court, showing what happened, and where the negligent party should have acted differently to prevent the accident.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in an accident in Southern California’s Antelope Valley, seek out knowledgeable and effective legal help to pursue your claims by contacting Palmdale personal injury attorney Paul Kistler at 661-206-6990.

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