The Use of Expert Witnesses in Personal Injury Cases
In personal injury cases, expert witnesses routinely play a vital role in the litigation process. An expert witness is someone who is called to testify in court because they have specialized knowledge or experience in a particular field that is of significance in the case. There are distinct types of expert witnesses, but they all serve an important purpose, as they are called to use their education, technical and/or professional knowledge to resolve liability questions and establish or refute medical causation.
For example, a personal injury attorney may hire an accident reconstructionist, who plays a role in analyzing the collision and reconstructing the accident. This type of expert would inspect the scene of the crash and the vehicles involved as well as review any testimony and statements from those involved and then apply scientific methodology to determine how and why the accident occurred.
Expert witness testimony is also used by attorneys in products liability cases, where someone is claiming they were injured by a defective product. This expert would use their knowledge and experience in the engineering field to inspect the product and provide his/her professional opinion on whether or not the product was defectively designed or manufactured, and typically provide an opinion on safer design alternatives.
Suffering from an injury and financial losses is already a strenuous and terrible experience for one to endure, but filing for bankruptcy on top of this adds more adversity to one’s financial and personal situation. Unfortunately, bankruptcy is a fairly common occurrence for those who have experienced detrimental injuries. If you are in the process of seeking claims in a personal injury case and are forced to file for bankruptcy in the process, this can certainly impact your case. What if any of the personal injury proceeds you may personally receive will be determined by the Bankruptcy Court.
A bankrupt plaintiff may continue to pursue their claims, however, bankruptcy strips control over a personal injury case from the plaintiff and instead grants it to a party referred to as the bankruptcy trustee, who acts on behalf of the creditors. The bankruptcy trustee essentially takes the plaintiff’s place in the suit and is able to harness a high level of control over the litigation and negotiations in the case. Furthermore, in certain situations, the original party loses control over settlement agreements. Many times, if the recovery in the personal injury case, does not exceed the size of the Bankruptcy, the injured party may not have much input on any settlement. While previously the original plaintiff grasped full authority over settlement negotiations, after filing bankruptcy, they are left powerless in this pursuit and have no guarantees that they will receive any sort of surplus of funds after the creditors obtain their debt, and the bankruptcy trustee is solely acting on behalf of the creditors’ needs and therefore has no obligation or motivation to pursue a claim higher than one that would satisfy the debts.