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When a person suffers a serious injury in a preventable accident caused by another party’s negligence, reckless action, or intentional wrongdoing, the injury victim may file a personal injury claim to cover their damages.
In a personal injury claim “damages” are the economic and non-economic consequences of an injury to the victim. It’s the injury victim’s (plaintiff’s) duty to prove the at-fault party (defendant) liable for damages by a preponderance of the evidence. This requires demonstrating that it’s more likely than not that the defendant caused the injury.
Personal injury claims can quickly become complex, often with the necessity of evaluating facts of the case that involve areas of special knowledge and expertise. When claims become lawsuits in court, sometimes an attorney must present these areas of technical knowledge in a way that a jury can understand. Expert witnesses often fill that role in a personal injury claim.
Attorneys in personal injury cases sometimes hire witnesses considered “experts” in their fields to evaluate specific aspects of a case. An expert witness may be asked to give a statement that a Seattle personal injury attorney uses as evidence in a demand package sent to an insurance company to begin the process of negotiating a settlement outside of the courtroom. If the insurance company denies a valid claim or undervalues it by offering only an unacceptably low settlement, the claim may proceed to court in a lawsuit. When personal injury claims go to court, the attorney for the injury victim may hire expert witnesses to testify in front of a judge and jury. Likewise, the defendant in the claim may hire their own expert witnesses to support their arguments in court.
Expert witnesses in personal injury cases possess knowledge, education, or training in specific areas that the average layperson does not. Examples of expert witnesses commonly used in personal injury claims include the following:
Some cases require testimony from other experts and specialists in areas of knowledge pertinent to the case.
Expert witnesses are neutral third parties with special knowledge. They offer unbiased opinions on various aspects of a personal injury case. For example, in complicated car accidents—especially those that aren’t captured on traffic cameras or surveillance footage—accident reconstruction experts may provide key testimony about the way an accident occurred by examining any available evidence and recreating the accident scene. This is often essential in proving which driver was at fault for the accident and liable for damages. In other car accident cases, auto parts experts have testified as witnesses as to how a defective car part caused an accident.
Medical experts are also commonly used on behalf of victims of all types of personal injuries including:
A medical expert may testify about the impacts of an injury on the victim’s life, including their daily routine and ability to work. They may also testify about the amount of pain and suffering a victim experiences with the type of injury they sustained.
Attorneys sometimes seek testimony from vocational therapists about the injury victim’s future earning potential after a serious injury causes a disability. This can impact the amount of compensation the victim obtains for their diminished future earning capacity after an accident.
A mental health expert is often crucial in providing evidence of the impacts of a traumatic accident or an act of violence on a victim so a jury awards the victim compensation for intangible damages such as negative impacts on their mental health.
For complex personal injury claims, expert witnesses often play key roles both in direct negotiations with insurance companies and in courtrooms.