One of the most important elements in any case is the experts. This is because experts can testify about things that lay witnesses cannot. For instance, experts can offer their ultimate opinions as to why the crash occurred, who was at fault, or what caused the injuries to happen. Generally, lay witnesses can only testify to what they observed but not as to any of their opinions. Because of their importance, we spend an exorbitant amount of time both preparing our own experts, and also researching the defense’s experts so that we can discredit them. Of course by simple law supply and demand, experts can be hugely expensive. I attribute a great deal of our success to our financial ability to go out and obtain practically any expert we want. It’s not uncommon for us to spend $50,000, $75,000 or even $100,000 on expenses on just one case. But it’s worth it if it adds an extra million dollars to the value of the case. The insurance companies have no problem spending this type of money to hire experts to testify against you. Unfortunately, plaintiff’s attorneys have to either require you to pay this money upfront or pay the money out of their own pockets. I’ve known of many good cases that went downhill simply because the plaintiff’s attorney cannot afford to get the experts they needed. Thus, when you’re considering hiring an attorney for your injury case, make sure you talk with them about the role of experts in your case and try and get a sense of whether or not the lawyer will be financially able to put the money into the case that it requires. The old saying is true, “It takes money to make money.”
There are two types of experts, non-retained and retained. Non-retained experts are the ones who can offer their opinions in the case because they have been personally involved. Most generally these are your treating doctors. I love non-retained experts the best because there is little ability for the defense to attack them as being biased. They are not there because they are just hired by the lawyer; they are there because they have been trying to make you better. On the other hand, they are not used to testifying and can unknowingly sink your case faster than a pack of dynamite strapped to a canoe.
On the opposite side are retained experts. These are experts who were not involved in the case until the lawyer goes out and hires them. Of course, they have many advantages over obtained experts in that they are generally more familiar with testifying. On the other hand, it’s always obvious to everyone they are being paid well for their opinions. So credibility is always an issue.
So here is a listing of the types of experts that we commonly use:
Treating Physicians
Treating physicians are generally the frontline of any serious injury case. They are the ones who are there to explain the extent of your injuries, everything you had to go through to recover, and everything that you will continue to go through in the future. But before they can go into any of this they have to first testify that the wreck was the cause of all those injuries. This would seem like it is no problem for doctors but in fact it is often the biggest problem for treating physicians. For a myriad of reasons, there are a great number of physicians who either just do not want to be bothered with the whole process of litigation or simply have an ax to grind against plaintiffs and their lawyers. I see this a lot in cases involving disc herniations where the doctor will say that he’s completely sure that you have a herniated disc right now but he cannot say that it is caused by the car wreck because he never knew anything about you before the wreck. But who goes to see a doctor before a wreck if they’re completely fine? Frankly, it seems quite stupid for doctors to take that position, but it happens all the time. This is why it is so vitally important to have an attorney on board from the beginning so that we can research the doctor and find out their past history in terms of testifying. This is such a crucial issue that I will not even take a case if the treating doctor is not on board.
Life Care Planners
The life care planner expert is a retained expert that we hire. They are used only in cases of severe injury in which there will be permanent impairment. Essentially, they review all of your medical records, speak with your doctors, interview you and your family, and examine your living quarters. They then put together a life care plan which details all of the treatment, medications, home modifications, etc, that you will need for the rest of your life. Basically, they put together a list of everything you will need to take care of you now because of the accident and then put together a final number of how much that will cost throughout your final lifetime. Usually this expert is a nurse. However, our firm has a great context with several doctors who also do a life care plan. They are extremely expensive and it is basically cost-prohibitive for a lot of lawyers to use an MD as their life care plan expert. Again, this goes back to making sure that your lawyer has the resources to put your case’s best foot forward. However, some of the greatest moments I’ve had is seeing the defense’s life care plan expert who is a nurse; have to admit that she cannot contradict our life care plan because it was written by a doctor. In the world of life care plans, doctors comp nurses every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.
Vocational Rehabilitationist
A vocational rehabilitation expert is used in cases where we need to prove that you are no longer capable of working. These experts specialize in evaluating the doctor’s permanent work restrictions and then figuring out whether you are employable given those restrictions. At first blush, most people do not understand that unemployable is not the same as totally disabled. You can be able to get around and life and carry things for small segments of time. However, this is different than being able to do it on a consistent basis 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Additionally, in cases where these experts feel that you might be able to return to work with some additional training, they will help secure the details of the training needed as well as the cost to obtain that training.
Economist
The economist is the one who puts all the numbers together into one lump sum that we present to the jury. Essentially they put together the numbers from the life care plan, past and future lost wages, and the past and future necessary medical treatment. However, it is not as simple as addition. Rather they have to reduce the future cost of these items down to a present number. This is not a science but rather an art in itself. Securing the right economist in a case can make a six-figure difference in the present value number.
Accident Reconstructionist
The accident reconstructionist is strictly limited to the liability side. Or simply, he or she reviews all the physical evidence of how the accident happened and attempts to recreate it so we can pinpoint exactly who was at fault. This will often involve looking at skid marks on the road, yaw marks in the gravel, and pictures of the vehicles involved. They will then interpret this data and use mathematical equations applying things such as friction coefficients to determine exact speeds at the time of impact, perception reaction time, and delta-v’s (the force of impact). I know this all sounds pretty complex, and it is. Basically, they help prove that the defendant caused the accident.
So those are a few examples of the comment experts that we use in cases. However, it is certainly not exhaustive. Of course the experts we use depend on the facts of every case and can often include mechanical engineers, biomechanical experts, and epidemiologists.
Again, I hope this reinforces that to maximize the value of your case; your attorney has to have the resources and the experience to secure the right experts. It is better to spend an extra $50,000 on a case if it helps add an extra $500,000 to settlement.
