Personal Injury Law: Is It Worth Hiring An Expert Witness?

For many personal injury cases, your attorney may recommend that you hire an expert witness to testify on your behalf at trial. With medical experts charging an average hourly rate of $567 for their testimonies and non-medical experts charging an average of $33 per hour for their testimonies, you might be wondering whether it's worth it.

What Does Hiring an Expert Witness Entail?

If you're hiring an expert witness, you are not only hiring him or her to testify on your behalf. You will also be paying for him or her to review your case and show up at the deposition. You will be paying an hourly rate for all of these services, so you can expect to pay a hefty sum. The question is: what does an expert witness do for you?

The expert witness will review your case to determine whether there are any discrepancies in the evidence and to give you better insight as to where you stand. This can give you a good idea as to whether you should settle or take your case to court. If you hire a medical expert, you can get a second opinion as to the extent of your injuries. The expert witness will work closely with your personal injury attorney to build a strong case on your behalf, and will also testify to persuade the court audience to sway in your favor.

Why Hiring an Expert Witness Is Essential in Most Cases?

If you've already had a medical condition reviewed by your family doctor, is it still necessary to hire a medical expert? The answer is yes. You might be wondering why you can't speak on your own behalf – especially since you have medical documents to support your claim. The simple answer to that is that a medical expert offers both credibility and expertise.

Trying to persuade a jury or a judge of your case when you have no background in that particular field can be tough. The defense might ask you to back up your claims. An expert witness will already have sources prepared for the claims they are making. In addition, in the event that the defense throws a curveball at you, you might be at a loss for words. This can hurt your position in the case. An expert witness can handle all curveballs gracefully, and will have likely have already prepared for it, as he or she probably already saw it coming.

Conclusion

Although hiring an expert witness is costly, it's definitely worth taking the advice of your personal injury attorney and hiring one for your case. Not only will the expert witness and your personal injury attorney, one like Prediletto, Halpin, Scharnikow & Nelson, P.S., be able to build a stronger case, but they may also be able to request for more compensation.

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