What Does an Expert Witness Do in a MA Car Accident Lawsuit?

Expert witnesses are commonly defined as individuals who are able to bring forth a valuable and educated opinion based on their experience in a particular field. For example, a medical expert could provide testimony regarding how the speed, point of contact, and the damage done to the vehicle may have caused your injuries. This can determine what damages are awarded in a wrongful death lawsuit in Massachusetts.

If you were involved in a crash that caused you significant pain and suffering, you deserve to be compensated. You and your family members can sue for wrongful death in Massachusetts. However, doing so may require you to hire expert witnesses in Boston car accident cases.

To learn more or for questions about a specific case, contact our Boston car accident attorney at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by calling (617) 925-6407 to learn about how the value of a wrongful death claim is calculated in Massachusetts today by

What is an Expert Witness?

An expert witness is a witness who has some specialized knowledge beyond the knowledge of ordinary people concerning some evidentiary element that is presented in a jury trial. The purpose of hiring an expert witness is to help the jury understand the evidence and reach a conclusion based on the expert’s specialized knowledge in a field that is outside the knowledge of ordinary laypeople.

Why Use an Expert Witness in a Massachusetts Car Accident Lawsuit?

It is hard to understate the many uses an expert witness can have in a car accident case. Their specialized education, training, knowledge, and experience in their field lend credibility to your case and make the court more confident in the righteousness of your claims. They can explain difficult concepts in terms juries can understand. Their opinions are not based on common knowledge but on scientific principles that peers in their field consistently rely on. Moreover, they can challenge the defendant’s evidence while providing support for yours, increasing your chances of holding them liable. Perhaps most importantly, they can support our arguments for the economic and non-economic damages you deserve.

Explain Complex Concepts to the Court

Car accident claims sometimes involve highly complex technical aspects that demand a solid understanding of the facts, including medical procedures, engineering principles, accident reconstruction, or product design methods. Without their testimony, it can be tough for judges and juries to fully grasp what the evidence is truly saying. By breaking down complicated information into clear language and relatable concepts, you stand a far better chance of proving your claim.

Provide Professional Opinions Based on Science

Expert opinions in a car accident lawsuit are trustworthy because they are based on scientific principles, which are used to interpret the facts and evidence. This scientific knowledge and their education are what makes them experts. They have knowledge that goes beyond the common understanding of laypeople and even our own legal team.

For example, medical experts can provide opinions about your diagnosis, the severity of your injuries, and how they impact your overall health and lifestyle. An accident reconstruction expert can review police reports, photos, and the accident scene to determine how fast a defendant was going based on their understanding of physics and engineering. Mental health experts can explain how PTSD, anxiety, and other conditions prevent you from living the life you enjoyed before the accident. These opinions can significantly influence the final decision a court makes in your case.

Support and Challenge Evidence

Expert witnesses do more than explain complex topics to the court; they can also assess the strengths, weaknesses, and reliability of our evidence. Experts can use their knowledge and experience from other cases to tell us what flaws in the evidence we should address before presenting it to a jury. They can identify inconsistencies between the evidence and elements of the claim, which can point our attorneys in the right direction during our investigation to get what we need.

They can also do the same when analyzing the defendant’s evidence. Other drivers will often accuse victims of contributing to the accident somehow, even if the evidence does not support it. An expert witness can explain the flaws in the defense’s theory of the case and why the evidence supports the conclusion that the defendant is solely responsible for your damages. They can even offer insights into how we can enhance our cross-examination of the defendant when questioning them.

Help Establish the Defendant’s Liability

To be successful in a car accident lawsuit, we must prove that the defendant was liable for your damages. Unfortunately, how a car accident came about and who did what is usually not clear-cut. You also might not remember all the details given that you were injured, which can affect your memory if you remember the crash at all. The more difficult it is to determine liability, the more helpful an expert witness will be.

As mentioned, accident reconstruction experts can help fill these gaps and provide insights that those who witnessed the accident cannot. However, experts can speak to eyewitnesses to get details of the crash, to which they can apply their skills. This can help them piece together the accident scene, along with police observations from their reports and any other evidence our team can gather. They can look at the damage done to the vehicles to determine the force of the impact, the angles that determine momentum, and the rate of speed each driver was going. These are not idle opinions but are based on accepted laws of physics. These little details can give our team the edge it needs to prove your lawsuit and the defendant’s negligence.

Help Prove Your Damages

Proving the defendant’s liability is just one part of a car accident claim. The other part is your damages. This includes your financial losses, as well as your non-monetary pain and suffering.

Medical experts can help explain how your injuries will impact you even after you have healed, allowing you to recover future medical compensation. Vocational experts can also describe how your accident has damaged your reduced your ability to earn the same income as before. As for proving your non-economic damages, mental health experts can explain how the accident has diminished your quality of life, including how conditions like depression and anxiety have affected your family life, your marriage, and other aspects that are critical to your personality.

Common Examples of Auto Wreck Expert Witnesses in Massachusetts

Depending on the type of injury case, a plaintiff has many options to choose from when hiring an expert witness. In regard to an auto injury case, the more commonly used witnesses include the following experts:

Medical Experts

Medical experts could include orthopedic surgeons specializing in spinal injuries or specializing in shoulder and upper extremity injuries, or knee and lower extremity injuries, such as foot and ankle. In addition, a Malden car accident attorney may use neurologists and neurosurgeons when presenting expert medical testimony concerning spinal injuries that involve nerve symptoms, such as sciatica, resulting from herniated disks in the spine. Our Boston Workers’ Compensation lawyers for spinal cord injuries can help to file the case.

Accident Reconstructionists

Accident reconstruction witnesses are commonly used to replay the moments leading up to a crash. In most cases, these witnesses are taken to the scene of the accident and may be able to provide valuable insight as to the severity of the crash.

Vocational Experts

Vocational experts may be used to testify concerning the impact the injury has had on the plaintiff’s future employability or whether there has been an impairment of ongoing future income and wages because of the accident. In some cases, they may use an expert life-care planner to testify to the reasonably anticipated future medical expenses that would be incurred as a result of the injuries.

Weight of an Expert Witness’ Testimony in a Massachusetts Car Accident Case

The weight of an expert witness’ testimony heavily depends on the amount of evidence in the case and the level of expertise of the witness. For example, if the expert witness is a medical professional whose opinion is publicly supported by other medical doctors and professionals in favor of the plaintiff, the jury may pay special attention to their testimony and may side with the plaintiff.

Pros and Cons of Hiring an Expert Witness in Massachusetts

The benefit of having expert witnesses in Boston car accident cases is that they can explain very technical pieces of information and concepts that are outside the normal life experience and knowledge of jurors who are not experts in medicine.

However, if the medical records and the treating doctor’s notes and reports adequately summarize the plaintiff’s injuries, an expert witness may not be necessary. That could also be true if the medical record and the treating physicians adequately provided opinions in the records and reports that the injury was caused as a direct and proximate result of the car accident.

How to Qualify as an Expert in Car Accident Cases in Massachusetts

In order for a witness to be trusted to provide detailed analysis regarding a highly technical aspect of an auto accident case or wrongful death accident, they should be widely considered experts in their respective fields. In some cases, they would have to show that they had the requisite education needed for somebody in that field to study. For example, a medical doctor would have to show that they attended and graduated medical school, that they have a medical license, a license to practice medicine, and that they have experience either in research or in clinical practice that is in the same field as the medical issues that will be presented and offered in evidence.

If an expert’s knowledge is challenged, the court may allow the challenging side to examine and question the expert to help the judge determine whether this proposed expert witness has the requisite knowledge and experience to become an expert.

Consult with Our Massachusetts Car Accident Attorneys Today

A Boston failure-to-yield accident attorney can provide you with valuable help when choosing to hire expert witnesses in Boston car accident cases. Not only could an attorney provide you with legal guidance regarding the selection of expert witnesses, but they may already have a team of experts ready to be used at your disposal.

To learn more or to consult with our Massachusetts car accident attorneys before taking legal action, schedule a free case assessment today with the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.