As you read about personal injury lawsuits filed after a car accident, the process can seem easy. You just have to prove negligence, causation, and damages, which might be clean-cut in your case. But the truth of the matter is that your case is bound to face some legal issues that are more challenging to get through than you expected. This might include negotiating an appropriate resolution or dealing with the admissibility of key evidence.
You need to know how to effectively handle these issues if you want to maximize your chances of winning your case and recovering the compensation you’re owed.
One way you can support your case is by using expert witnesses. But who do you need to call as an expert witness and how can they be helpful to your case? Let’s take a closer look so that you have a better understanding of how to build the robust case that you need.
Which experts will you need in your personal injury case?
It depends on the facts of your case. However, if there are areas of your case that are highly contested, then you might want to use one of the following experts:
- Accident reconstruction expert: This individual can help you prove fault. They will analyze the physical evidence of your accident, including tire marks, vehicle resting positions, and the positioning of traffic signals, to determine as to the accident’s cause. This opinion is reduced to a written report that you can then submit into evidence. Just be sure to anticipate the other side having their own expert to testify to a contrary opinion.
- Medical expert: Damages are often a sticking point in personal injury lawsuits, regardless of whether they head to settlement negotiations or trial. This is where a medical expert can assist. Your own doctor, or maybe one who specializes in treating your kind of injuries, can testify to the extent and severity of your harm, as well as your need for long-term treatment. This can support your claim for medical expenses, both incurred and expected, as well as your pain and suffering damages.
- Employment expert: There’s a significant chance that your injuries will negatively impact your ability to work or advance in your career. By having an expert in your field testify, you can paint a picture of the financial losses that you’ll face on account of your injuries.
As mentioned above, be prepared for the defense to have their own experts ready to testify in contradiction to your own experts’ opinions. It can take a significant amount of work to figure out how best to attack the reliability of defense expert testimony, which is why it’s a good idea to question those witnesses, through depositions, if necessary, to figure out how they’ll testify. Only then will you be able to identify weaknesses in their positions that you can then attack.
Know how to confidently move forward with your personal injury case
Your future financial stability might be on the line in your personal injury case. So, too, is the effectiveness of your recovery. With so much at stake, you need to be prepared to present the most persuasive arguments possible in your case.
To develop those arguments, you need a command of the facts and an understanding of how to use the law to your advantage. While that might sound tricky to do, you can alleviate the uncertainty in your case and build your confidence by putting in the prep work necessary to build the compelling case you and your family deserve.