Expert witnesses play a crucial role in personal injury cases by providing specialized knowledge that goes beyond what the average juror might know, but phrasing that knowledge in ways that jurors can understand. According to New Jersey law, both plaintiffs and defendants can use the services of expert witnesses to provide "scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge [that] will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue." By explaining complex concepts, helping establish causation, quantifying damages, and ultimately strengthening a case by adding credibility and clarity, expert witnesses can help strengthen your personal injury case, too.
Why Are Expert Witnesses Essential in Personal Injury Cases?
Expert witnesses bring specialized knowledge to personal injury cases by helping jurors understand the full extent of an injury, determine future medical needs, or establish how an accident occurred.
Personal injury lawyers commonly solicit the services of experts in the medical field—including treating physicians, specialists, surgeons, or other healthcare providers—to testify about the nature and extent of a plaintiff's injuries, the link between the accident and injuries, the necessary treatments and procedures, and any long-term prognosis and future medical needs.
Accident reconstruction experts help analyze evidence after a car accident to determine how the accident occurred. They can use physics, engineering principles, and specialized software to create diagrams or animations of the accident, establish the factors that contributed to the incident, determine the speeds, forces, and other technical aspects of the collision, and help identify which party caused the crash.
Vocational experts can evaluate how badly an accident impacted a victim’s employment opportunities and earning capacity, their ability to return to their previous occupation, which alternative career options they can pursue, the retraining or education they need to undergo, and any earnings they may forfeit over their lifetime.
How Do Expert Witnesses Strengthen a Personal Injury Case?
Expert witnesses strengthen personal injury cases in several key ways:
- Experts help connect the defendant's actions to the plaintiff's injuries.
- Experts provide help to calculate both the ‘economic’ and ‘non-economic’ costs of an accident.
- Experts translate technical jargon into layman’s terms for judges and jurors.
The testimony of expert witnesses in personal injury litigation can often sway a jury one way or the other, particularly in cases involving disputed liability or complex injuries.
What Challenges Do Expert Witnesses Face in Personal Injury Litigation?
Expert witnesses are not infallible. During a hotly contested case, expert witnesses could face several attacks that challenge their effectiveness. For instance, opposing counsel could question an expert's qualifications, methodology, or potential biases or present other expert witnesses with contrasting opinions. Additionally, expert witnesses must, by law, support all their statements with factual evidence or accepted methodology, or else the court might throw their testimony out.
Monmouth County Personal Injury Lawyers at Lombardi & Lombardi, P.A. Work With Expert Witnesses to Help Improve Your Case
If a case requires an expert witness, the seasoned Monmouth County personal injury lawyers at Lombardi & Lombardi, P.A. will find the best one for your interest. We are a distinguished law firm and have worked with numerous expert witnesses in past personal injury cases. Call us today at 732-906-1500 or fill out our online form for a free consultation. With office locations in Brick, Freehold, and Edison, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients across the state, including Point Pleasant.
