Can an Expert Help my Injury Claim?
After suffering an injury due to the negligent actions of another, filing a personal injury claim may be the answer to recovering the financial compensation one both needs and deserves. But filing a successful personal injury claim takes more than just notifying an insurance adjuster of an injury; evidence must be presented that proves both the cause of the injury and the extent of damages suffered. One form of evidence that can make or break a claim is expert testimony.
Types of Experts that May Be Useful in a Personal Injury Claim
There are four elements of a personal injury claim that must be established for the claim to be successful: duty of care, breach of duty of care, causation, and damages. Experts may be called upon to provide testimony and opinion for each. For example, types of experts that may be useful in the personal injury claim process include:
- Accident reconstruction experts, who can lend insight as to how an accident occurred;
- Design experts, who can testify to a defective design of a product or automobile, leading to failure and injury;
- Medical experts, who can testify about a breach of the medical standard of care or/and provide testimony about the extent of injuries a plaintiff has suffered and what the future may look like;
- Mental health and psychological experts, whose statements may be used to decide about the amount of pain and suffering experienced by a claimant;
- Financial experts, whose professional opinions may be used in calculating the value of a claimant’s economic losses; and
- Forensic experts, who can collect and analyze physical evidence to decide about how an accident occurred and who should be held liable for damages.
The above list is not inclusive; the experts that may be necessary in a personal injury claim can vary on a case-by-case basis. For example, an expert in childhood development may be necessary for a case involving a child, or an expert in animal behavior may be called upon in a case involving a dog bite.
Why Are Experts So Important in Injury Claims?
The role of an expert in an injury claim should not be understated. An expert’s opinion and testimony can truly make or break a case, providing unbiased, official, and specialized knowledge about how an accident occurred or the damages that a claimant has suffered. In some cases, such as a medical malpractice case, expert opinion is not only helpful, but required; a court cannot know if the medical standard of care has been breached without hearing from other doctors.
Who Pays for an Expert’s Opinion?
Hiring an expert to be involved in your case, from investigating what happened to providing testimony for an insurance adjuster or court, is not an inexpensive endeavor. In fact, some experts may charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for their time.
However, because experts are so important and can have such an influence on the outcome of a personal injury case, hiring an expert is often not optional, but necessary. This is one of the primary reasons why working with a law firm with the resources available to invest in experts for your case is a must. When you hire the right law firm, the law firm will front experts’ costs on your behalf. If your case is successful, you will pay the law firm from a percentage of your winnings, rather than paying out of pocket fees.
Call the Alsobrook Law Firm for Your Free Consultation Today
At the offices of Alsobrook Jackson, our talented Alabama personal injury attorneys have hired experts to help build cases and prove our clients’ claims numerous times of the years. We have the resources and connections your case demands, and we’re ready to start building your claim today. To schedule a free consultation with our legal team, please send us a message, visit us in person, or call us at 334-737-3718 today.
