It’s not enough to declare that the other driver was at fault when you make a car accident claim. Everything you claim needs to be supported by hard evidence. Quite often, car accidents are complicated events that might be challenging to decipher. There are cases where you don’t have any eyewitnesses or those who have been there make contradictory claims.
As a car accident victim, it doesn’t seem fair that you need to go through such an effort just to demand a rightful compensation for your injuries, but the truth is that the bigger the effort you make to support your claim through hard evidence, the more satisfying the results. This extra effort can mean finding an expert witness to support your claim.
Who Can Qualify as an Expert Witness?
Expert witnesses in car accident claims are those witnesses who haven’t actually seen the accident but can provide invaluable testimony for the case by analyzing the data available and interpreting it.
An expert witness is qualified to provide information about any aspect related to the accident by having the proper education and work experience. It’s probably needless to say that you should hire an expert witness who studied at and works for reputable, legitimate organizations.
Why Would You Need an Expert Witness in Your Car Accident Claim?
Not all car accident claims need an expert witness, but if it’s difficult to find who’s at fault or demonstrate the true extent of your damage and losses, you can hire an expert to clear things up in an area of dispute. The type of expert witness you might need depends on your particular case and the aspects that you seem to struggle the most.
The Most Common Types of Expert Witnesses
Here are the most common types of expert witnesses to evaluate your case:
- Accident reconstructionist – they can be extremely valuable in determining liability, which will influence your settlement a lot
- Highway safety expert – they are valuable witnesses who can determine which were the contributing factors to the causes of the accident
- Economist or accountant – they can help by accurately establishing how much income you have lost because of the accident, calculating it to the last detail
- Medical expert – the most common type of witness in car accident claims. A medical expert witness is an independent doctor who you can hire to provide extra evidence for your claim
- Mental health expert – a car accident can cause emotional and mental injuries as well, and it’s important to take them into account when filing your claim
- Engineering expert – this expert can help you to better understand the mechanisms of the accident, and how defective roads or signs might have contributed to it
If you are not sure whether you need an expert witness or not, take your St. Louis car accident attorney’s advice on it. They might even have the contacts of expert witnesses they have previously worked with, which can be a valuable referral when choosing one.