When pursuing a personal injury claim after an accident, witnesses can help you prove your case and corroborate your claims, supporting elements of causation, liability, and damages. As the injured party bringing a claim, it is your responsibility, along with your legal team, to prove that the accident caused your injuries and that you deserve to be compensated. One key element that can support your claim is witness testimony.
There are different types of witnesses your legal team may want to talk with and call to testify if needed. The first type is known as Lay and Incident Witnesses. These witnesses have no specific expertise related to your claim. They include:
This witness testimony can help prove and corroborate your claim.
Another type of witness is the “expert.” This is exactly what it sounds like – they are experts in a specific field such as engineering, medicine, manufacturing, and more.
Consulting experts: These experts help explain and clarify key issues to you and your legal team. They provide valuable information but do not testify in open court.
Testifying experts: These experts testify in open court. They must have expertise in their area and be skilled and effective communicators.
Depending on your situation, your lawyer will determine which types of experts may be needed, including:
Medical Experts may be used to testify about your specific injuries; your progress, recovery options and treatment; impact on your quality of life, and whether your condition is temporary or permanent.
Mental Health Experts may be used to help explain how the accident and/or your injuries have affected you mentally or emotionally, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or the emotional trauma of handling a disability.
Accident Reconstruction Experts may be used to assist law enforcement and your attorneys in reconstructing the accident using drawings, models, and special computer programs to help determine how the accident occurred, the speed of vehicles, the force of the impact, and more.
Economics Experts may be used when your injuries have affected your ability to earn a living. These experts can testify to how your injuries have affected your ability to earn a living, including current and future wages you might have earned.
Engineering Experts may be used to talk about how something was built; for instance, finding that a roadway’s engineering may have led to the accident.
Manufacturing Experts may be used to show how a product’s manufacturing was defective and led to the accident/injury, such as a vehicle part failing and causing the accident.
Maintenance Experts may be used to prove a trucking company did not perform required maintenance, leading to or contributing to your accident.
A professional may be the only one who can prove an injury was caused by negligence, its impact on your life, and its severity. While it is good to understand the types of witnesses often involved in personal injury cases; your personal injury attorney will determine what is needed based on the specifics of your situation.
If you would like to receive news and blog updates regularly, sign up to receive our email newsletter. Your email address will only be used to send you our newsletter and respond to inquiries.
Past results afford no guarantee of future results and each case is different and is judged on its own merits. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 3, 2018. It was reviewed on February 21, 2025, for content and accuracy, and re-published.
Often, we assume that parking lots and parking garages are relatively safe places to drive. These do not seem to be the type of place where car accidents are likely to occur, so we let our guard down. However, according to the National Safety Council, on average, more than 50,000 crashes occur in parking lots and parking garages annually.
Over the next two years, St. Louis will be the place for numerous lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson alleging the use of talcum-powder based products manufactured and sold by the company caused ovarian cancer.
Having St. Louis be a hub for these trials was in jeopardy after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June severely restricted jurisdiction in litigation, primarily to the states in which the defendants are based or where the injured parties lived.
Industrial workers face significant hazards on the job, making their day-to-day work dangerous. Industrial jobs typically involve more manual labor, working with many types of machinery including heavy machinery and working outdoors.
Safety is a priority in these work environments; however, even when employees follow safety rules, accidents occur. One such industrial accident involves the failure of high-pressure valves.
Will you be on our Kansas City roads traveling this holiday season? Thanksgiving is the start of one of the busiest traveling times of the year. In fact, the American Automobile Association projects an estimated 43.4 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home with 90% of those traveling by car.
Not only that, but cooking is the number one cause of home fires!
Here are a few tips and reminders to help keep you safe over the holidays.
November 16, 2017 – A Texas federal jury reached a unanimous verdict – finding against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. – awarding $247 million dollars to six hip replacement patients who suffered serious injuries from the Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants.
The Nash & Franciskato Law Firm congratulates Brian S. Franciskato and Randy W. James for making the 2017 Super Lawyer List, making it 10 years that they have received this honor.
Did you know, drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence? Whether you refer to these drivers as drowsy drivers, fatigued drivers or tired drivers, drivers who may be sleepy have delayed reactions like those who have been drinking alcohol and tend to make bad driving decisions.
Slip and fall accidents can happen at any time and any place. Sometimes it is just that, an accident plain and simple. Other times, it may be due to the negligence of another party. Whatever the cause, the elderly – those 65 and older – are at a greater risk to fall and suffer a serious, sometimes life-threatening, injury.
Elderly: 29 million falls. 800,000 hospitalizations. 28,000 deaths. Share on X
In 2007, Elizabeth Sones had surgery on her hip and received an implant with Biomet M2a Magnum components. Thereafter, she experienced pain and difficulties and it was determined that she had a condition consistent with a pseudotumor. The biomet magnum was revised as a result of failure of the device, leaving her with a long and painful rehabilitation and emotional trauma.
