Benefit of an Expert Witness in an Aurora Car Accident Case

Expert witnesses are individuals who are experts within their field, and are sometimes brought into cases in order to testify. The benefit of an expert witness in an Aurora car accident case cannot be emphasized enough. By working with an expert witness, you and your attorney can bolster your personal injury claim. An expert witness can validate loss, help establish the at-fault party’s negligence, and can break down complicated subjects for the jury. If you have been injured in a serious accident, an expert witness could be instrumental in your case. Work with an experienced car accident lawyer that could find expert witnesses that can help build your case. En Español.

Expert Witnesses and the Long-Term Effects of Car Accidents

Even if an expert witness cannot attest that the injuries the plaintiff sustained will result in a loss of wages, they can always make that argument because it is the loss of their capacity to earn and their prior work history is not always indicative of what their future work is going to be.

It is important to examine the long-term effects of these injuries. The plaintiff might have a back injury and may be unable to sit at their desk for more than two hours without having to get up and walk around and having pain and so maybe their work hours are cut.

Or, due to the accident, the plaintiff could have to retire earlier due to arthritis in their back. This would mean they would be missing work years, and while it is speculative there is credibility to the argument that the injury could affect their future earning power.

Impartial Nature of Expert Witnesses

One benefit of an expert witness in an Aurora car accident case is their impartialness. These experts are usually retained by either the plaintiff or the defendant. That is something that is highlighted at trial because, inevitably, the defense wants to introduce evidence of this expert’s bias saying that the plaintiff is paying them to render their opinions.

Usually, the expert witness answers that they are being compensated, but it does not change their evaluation of the case. Likewise, the defense will pay people to bring in and testify to whatever they want them to testify to. Those are the biases that tend to be brought out but experts always, always seem to be given a lot more weight than lay-witness testimony.

How Much Weight is Given to Expert Witness Testimony

That expert witness testimony is given significant weight and the main reason is that when someone is starting to do a direct examination requesting of an expert, they have to introduce a foundation for being qualified as an expert. In front of the jury, the attorney will go through what their education is, what their work history is.

Following that, the jury undoubtedly will look at the expert as someone with more knowledge and more credibility than the plaintiff. However, it varies from case to case. If the plaintiff introduces evidence that the defense expert has only testified for defendants for the past 10 years, then it might look like the expert is doing it for the money and is biased against the plaintiff.

Benefits of Working With an Expert Witness

The benefit of an expert witness in an Aurora car accident case is that their testimony is given a lot of weight. An expert witness has the ability to testify to opinions that they form without necessarily introducing admissible evidence so if for some reason, the evidence that the expert is relying on is inadmissible evidence, the expert can still render their opinion and the evidence will come in. They can give opinions on ultimate issues in the case as long as the opinion is otherwise admissible in the action.

What that means is that the witness can say for example, that the defendant is 75% liable and the plaintiff is 25% liable, and that is an ultimate issue, meaning it should be left to the jury’s decision. An expert can opine on that if their testimony is otherwise admissible and that is something that, usually, a layperson or a plaintiff does not understand. The plaintiff does not necessarily have any expert opinion to be able to render that conclusion. If an individual wishes to retain the services of a reputable expert witness, they should consult a well-connected car accident lawyer that can help.