Role of Expert Witnesses in Maryland Injury Cases

If injured in an accident and interested in filing a claim one aspect that can strengthen your case is the presence of expert witnesses. Below a Maryland injury attorney discusses the use of expert witnesses, who qualifies as an expert, and if you need to find your own witnesses. To learn more about the use of witnesses and how else you can strengthen your injury case, call and schedule a free consultation with a lawyer today.

What is The Role of An Expert Witness in An Injury Case?

In an injury case usually there are two kinds of expert witnesses. Usually a medical doctor who will give an opinion as to the cause of the injury, the duration of the injury, the extent of the injury and how that injury will persist and they will also recommend or outline as to any further treatment that is needed, as well as the expected approximate cost of future medical treatment.

Then there is an expert witness who plays the role of either an engineer or a consultant or someone who can assist with the liability aspects of the case meaning that, for example, if there is a car accident when an expert could be an accident reconstructionist who can say that based on the factors that they have in front of them that the accident was reconstructed in a way that they could tell the speed of each vehicle that was involved, the distance that they traveled prior to the impact so that could be one example of expert witness.

Another expert witness is also an economist who can look at someone’s lost wages or loss of pension benefits or loss of retirement benefits and calculate the extent of those damages from the time of the accident to the future.

Do I Need To Find An Expert Witness For Myself?

No, once you retain legal representation your attorneys will go and find the expert witnesses if one is necessary and will consult with you and then work together to provide that extra witness as much information as possible. The only really steps that the client has to take is that they will have to be honest with the attorney about the medical treatment that they are receiving, about the follow up with their medical treatment as the doctor or doctors or physical therapist or anyone else prescribed and just keep the attorney up to date as to any doctor that they have seen and also advice the attorney of any subsequent or prior actions that they have been involved with in order to fully apprise the attorney of all the situations that can present themselves in the case.