In a personal injury case, before you can collect compensation for your losses stemming from an accident, you must satisfy the burden of proof. Essentially, you must prove that the other party’s negligence caused your injuries. Fulfilling the burden of proof is difficult. However, attorneys can work in conjunction with outside experts to prove liability and damages. Keep reading to discover how testimonies from expert witnesses can benefit your personal injury case and learn how our seasoned Westchester County Personal Injury Attorneys can help you navigate your legal options.
What type of outside experts can potentially help with a personal injury case?
When pursuing a personal injury case, it is imperative to have quality legal representation as an experienced attorney can work in conjunction with outside experts to help prove your claim. An expert witness in a personal injury case is someone who has specialized knowledge, education, experience, and training in a particular field. Typically, outside experts provide testimony in legal proceedings to help the court understand the facts of a case and establish liability. Oftentimes, attorneys work with the following types of outside experts:
- Medical expert. Oftentimes in personal injury cases, attorneys will work with healthcare providers including doctors, nurses, and dentists. These providers can provide testimony that helps the court understand the extent and severity of your injuries. Additionally, they can provide their expert opinion on the long-term impact of the injuries.
- Accident reconstruction expert. If you have been injured in an auto accident, your attorney may work with a reconstruction expert who will analyze the physical evidence of the collision and even recreate the accident scene. This will provide an accurate account of how an accident occurred and who was at fault for the crash.
- Engineering experts. If you are pursuing a product liability case, your attorney may work with those with engineering expertise that can help the court understand the technical components of the case and provide testimony of whether the product was designed safely and displayed proper warning signage.
- Economists and financial specialists. Economists can provide testimony that helps the court understand the economic impact of the injury. These experts can help your case as they can calculate an accurate and reasonable amount of compensation for your losses stemming from the accident.
- Vocational expert. If you sustained life-altering injuries that will permanently affect your ability to work, a vocational expert can help the court understand the impact your injuries have on your earning capacity.
- Life care planner. In some cases, your attorney may work with a life care planner that can testify to the future medical care required due to your injuries.
- Mental health expert. In personal injury cases, you can recover compensation for economic and non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are subjective losses that are not quantifiable. That being said, non-economic damages are often difficult to calculate. An attorney can work with mental health experts to testify about the impact your injuries have had on your emotional well-being.
Outside experts play a crucial role in personal injury cases as they can provide specialized knowledge of several components of the case that help the court better understand the facts of the case. When pursuing a personal injury case, you need a determined Westchester County personal injury attorney on your side. Our firm is dedicated to helping our clients recover appropriate compensation for their damages.