Sometimes personal injury cases require the use of experts to help prove a certain part of the case. For example, in a medical malpractice case, you need to hire a doctor to say the one you are suing was negligent. You don’t need an expert in every case and the decision to hire one depends on many factors. Here are a few we consider when deciding to hire an expert.
Is it required? Like I mentioned above in medical malpractice cases, sometimes the law requires you hire an expert to prove your case. When the fact you are trying to prove is something the average person is not qualified to talk about, then you need an expert. The average person cannot say whether a doctor acted negligently, so we need an expert doctor in medical malpractice cases to make that connection. Sometimes we need a doctor in a run-of-the-mill personal injury case to say that the negligent act caused a certain injury because the average person cannot make that connection.
Is it worth it? Experts require payment upfront for their services which the lawyer advances for the client. That then becomes an expense on the case that is deducted from the final settlement or judgment amount and erodes the client’s net recovery. If the expert is so expensive that his or her fees eat up too much of the recovery, it may just not be worth it. However, it the expert’s testimony increases the value of the case exponentially, it may in fact be worth it.
Will it benefit the case? Some facts that can be testified to by the average person could also shored up by expert testimony. However, we always need to ask ourselves, will it help? If not, it won’t be worth the expense. For example, in a car accident case, the average person can testify about the rules of the road and whether the defendant broke those rules. A liability expert probably would not add much to a car accident case, so we almost never use one.
If you think your case might benefit from an expert, a Kansas City personal injury attorney would be happy to talk to you about it. We consult with experts frequently and are familiar with the ins and outs of their work. Contact our office today for a consultation.