Legal proceedings can be scary and confusing for anyone not familiar with legal language and procedures. Your attorney will guide you through the process of your legal situation, and there is a good chance that he or she may talk to you about the role of an “expert witness” in your case.

What Makes an Expert

A legal definition of expert is “Persons examined as witnesses in a cause, who testify in regard to some professional or technical matter arising in the case, and who are permitted to give their opinions as to such matter on account of their special training, skill, or familiarity with it. An expert is a person who possesses peculiar skill and knowledge upon the subject matter that he is required to give an opinion upon.”

That’s a mouthful! What it means is that an expert is a person who knows a lot about a particular subject because they have experience, training or education on that subject.

When an expert tells what they think about your subject, they are giving testimony and what they say about it is their opinion.

There are two sides to every legal proceeding.

The person (or government body) that starts a legal proceeding to accuse another person or company of doing wrong is the plaintiff.

The person or company being charged with a crime or being sued in a civil action is the defendant.

An expert witness may be hired by either the plaintiff or the defendant to give an opinion on an important subject in the case.

Examples of Expert Witnesses

Television crime dramas have loads of expert witness testimony (cue the music) that make or break the case. Scientists called to the stand to explain DNA tests, blood spatter patterns, fingerprints or how poisons are detected are all examples of expert witnesses.

For most people, the most common cause of a lawsuit is personal injury. There are legal proceeding every day for personal injury claims, from car accidents to worker compensation claims.

Both the person who is injured and the party at fault will use experts to try to show, among other things, how badly the person is injured, if the injury keeps the person from working, if the person will continue to suffer from the injury, and if the injury could have been prevented.

Medical doctors are frequently used as expert witnesses. The injured person will have been treating with one or more medical doctors that could include a number of specialists, like orthopedists and neurologists.

In addition, the person or insurance company on the opposing side of the lawsuit often will arrange for the injured person to be examined by a specialist of their choosing. This is called an Independent Medical Exam (“IME”) or a defense medical exam.

Doctors aren’t the only kind of expert witness. Depending on the circumstances leading to the lawsuit, experts called to testify may include mental health specialists, accident reconstruction specialists, workplace safety engineers, mechanical specialists, or authorities on just about any subject that pertains to the case.

Then It Gets Interesting

Having an expert to testify about injuries and damages is not always a straightforward process. That’s why you need a good attorney!

The other side may try to impeach your expert. In other words, they will try to convince the judge or jury not to believe the testimony of your expert.

An expert may be impeached if the other side proves the witness is not qualified enough to be an expert, that his area of expertise does not apply to the case, or that the expert has not looked specifically at the situation at hand.

Sometimes the other side will claim that the expert’s opinion in not based on true science, if your expert has an opinion about your injuries that is unique.

Having a better understanding of the role of expert witnesses will help you if your case requires an expert. An experienced attorney will explain the need for an expert witness to prove or defend your position in the lawsuit.

Do you have experiences with expert witnesses? Are there more legal issues you would like to learn about?