Personal injury cases in California often involve complex issues that go beyond what most people deal with in everyday life. To name two examples, questions regarding how exactly a car accident happened and how much a victim’s future care will cost often require specialized knowledge to answer.
That is where expert witnesses come in. Under California law, an expert witness is someone with professional knowledge or training in a particular field who can offer opinions to help a judge or jury understand the facts of a case.
Read on to learn how expert witnesses work in California personal injury claims and why they can be so important to your outcome.
Who Qualifies as an Expert Witness in California?
California Evidence Code § 720 sets the standard for who can serve as an expert witness. Under this statute, a person qualifies if they have enough specialized knowledge or professional experience in the subject they are testifying about. The standard is flexible. A formal degree is helpful but not always required, as long as the person can show they have the background to speak with authority on the topic.
Before an expert takes the stand, the side calling them must demonstrate their qualifications. The opposing party then has the right to challenge those credentials through cross-examination. The court also has the power to limit how many experts each side can call under Evidence Code § 723.
What Types of Experts Are Used in Personal Injury Cases?
Different types of experts may be brought in depending on what your claim requires. Some of the most common include:
- Medical professionals who can explain the nature of your injuries and connect them to the accident
- Accident reconstruction specialists who can recreate the events leading up to the crash
- Economists or vocational experts who can calculate lost earning capacity
- Life care planners who can project the cost of future medical needs
- Biomechanical engineers who can show how the forces of an impact affected your body
Your attorney may rely on one expert or several depending on the issues in dispute. The defense will likely retain its own experts to challenge your claims, which is why the credibility of the people on your side is key.
How Can an Expert Witness Help My Case?
Expert witnesses serve two important purposes in a personal injury claim. First, they help establish facts that a jury would not be able to figure out on its own. California Evidence Code § 801 requires that expert testimony address a subject “beyond common experience” in order to be admissible. Injury-related questions often clear that bar.
Second, experts add credibility. A doctor explaining in detail why your injury will require lifelong treatment carries more weight with a jury than your own description of the pain. The same goes for an economist laying out the financial toll of lost wages over the next two decades. Jurors tend to trust professionals who can walk them through the evidence in a clear, grounded way.
California law also sets a standard for certain defense expert testimony about alternative medical causes. Under California Evidence Code § 801.1, when a plaintiff must establish medical causation to a reasonable medical probability, an opposing expert who proposes an alternative cause generally must testify that the alternative cause exists to a reasonable medical probability.
What Should I Know About Expert Disclosure Rules?
California has rules for exchanging information about expert witnesses before trial. A party may request an exchange identifying the experts each side expects to call and, for certain experts, information about their qualifications and expected testimony.
This process helps both sides prepare for expert testimony and may include expert depositions. California’s expert discovery rules also have specific procedures and deadlines that must be followed.
This process gives your attorney the chance to evaluate the defense’s experts ahead of time and prepare to challenge their testimony. It also means the defense will scrutinize your experts just as closely, which is why choosing the right people for the job is critical.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Salinas Personal Injury Lawyer at Mercado Kramer
Expert witnesses can be the difference between a personal injury case that succeeds and one that falls short. The right experts help paint a clear picture for the jury and back up your claims with professional analysis that is difficult to dispute.
If you were injured in an accident in California, contact a Salinas personal injury attorney from Mercado Kramer today at (888) 311-4050 to review your case during a free consultation.
