The Role Of Expert Witnesses In Catastrophic Injury Cases

Lawyers have deep knowledge of the law within their practice areas. However, collecting evidence for a case often involves securing key information outside the legal landscape. This is where expert witnesses come in.

In catastrophic injury cases, experts on both sides put forth their opinions on various matters relating to a case. Ultimately, it is up to the jury to decide whether an expert witness is credible. Here is what you need to know about the role an expert witness serves in cases involving serious injuries in Colorado.

What Is A Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury in Colorado is an injury that has long-term and long-lasting effects. In many cases, they affect victims for the rest of their lives. They also impact the victims’ family members, who must often care for their injured loved ones. 

Common examples of catastrophic injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Neck and spinal cord injuries
• Injuries to internal organs
• Crushed or fractured bones
• Dismemberment and amputation
• Serious burns

Due to the nature of catastrophic injuries and how they occur, victims also frequently suffer from emotional and mental trauma. They can experience conditions such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety, which in turn make their struggles much harder.

What Is An Expert Witness?

An expert witness is a witness with specialized knowledge and experience in a certain area. They are used by attorneys and the court to give testimony on specific matters relating to a particular case. Colorado expert witness rules require these witnesses to have qualifying credentials and/or experience before testifying as an expert.

The following are a few types of expert witnesses commonly used in catastrophic injury cases. 

Medical

Medical experts are valuable professionals who can testify about all manner of medical information, depending on their field or fields of study. In every case, medical experts are meant to only expound on areas in which they have specialized knowledge, education, or experience. 

For example, a burn treatment doctor may be the perfect expert witness for a catastrophic injury involving fire or chemicals. However, they may not be so helpful in cases involving crushed or fractured bones. 

Mental Health

Mental health expert witnesses help to give juries and the court a glimpse into the minds of certain parties to a lawsuit. They use their experience to provide the testimony the court needs to judge intent as well as to evaluate the need for present and future mental health services for a particular party. 

Engineering

Accidents involving structures and the like commonly produce catastrophic injuries. Engineering experts provide valuable testimony on the causes of these accidents in cases involving:

• Collapsed bridges
• Collapsed residential and commercial buildings
• Collapsed roofs or floors

Their testimony can implicate the proper party or parties for a structural accident, including the architect, the builder, and the product makers. 

Forensic

Forensic experts analyze facts and evidence using science and strict methodologies. Their goal is to interpret evidence and facts using their vast education and experience in the field. Although frequently associated with hard science, forensics also applies to the financial arena, such as in the case of forensic accountants. 

Accident

Accident reconstruction experts are professionals with substantial education on the causes and outcomes of specific types of accidents. As with medical professionals, experts typically focus on one or a couple of areas. 

For example, traffic accident reconstructionists may be great for car accident cases but not so appropriate for cases involving airliners. 

Environmental 

With an increase in consciousness of environmental issues, more cases are being brought against environmental offenders. In some cases, these offenders engage in activities that lead to all manner of catastrophic injuries, including:

• Burns
• Poisonings
• Injuries from environmental degradation of structures

Environmental experts are particularly helpful with causation in these matters. Their testimony can link environmental crimes and actions to catastrophic injuries suffered by victims unaware of the dangers lurking near them. 

How Expert Witnesses Help Catastrophic Injury Victims

Expert witnesses in catastrophic injury cases in Colorado at the state and federal level can be instrumental to a victim’s pursuit of compensation. In every case, they can be particularly helpful in clarifying complex issues for laypersons. 

Take a closer look at how these witnesses support catastrophic injury cases.

Damages

Expert witness testimony can establish the breadth of damages necessary to care for a person with catastrophic injuries. For example, an expert can help a jury or the court understand the precise nature and extent of medical care a catastrophic injury victim needs for the future. 

Without such an expert, a victim might not receive the full extent of damages they require and are owed. 

Credibility

One of the main benefits of an expert witness is the credibility they bring to a case. Well-schooled and experienced professionals with the appropriate credentials can be quite convincing to those deciding a case. Their words can add a powerful dimension of reliability. 

Clarification

Expert witnesses are also ideal clarifiers in many cases. They take difficult or tricky information and present it to juries in a way that juries will best understand. Medical and scientific information, in particular, can be highly complex. Experts who can distill the concepts for members of the public see great success in the cases they work. 

This is not always easy. Expert witnesses frequently deal with complicated information that, in many cases, simply cannot be distilled down into bite-size capsules. In these cases, a catastrophic injury lawyer works closely with experts to ensure the jury or other important parties understand as much as possible.  

Causation

Causation is a necessary element in injury claims. The alleged negligent or unlawful act in question must actually have caused the catastrophic injury in a case for compensation. 

In some cases, proving this causation is quite easy. In others, it takes detailed and meticulous knowledge to establish causation, and this is especially true in medical causation issues. An expert witness can be a valuable asset in this task.

Seasoned Catastrophic Injury Attorneys Who Can Fight for You

Elite Litigation Group at Bachus & Schanker is a team of premier litigators who fight vigorously to protect victims of serious, harmful civil and criminal incidents. Our mission comes directly from our founder, attorney Kyle Bachus, who lost his mother to inexcusable negligence, as detailed in his book Unthinkable. His account of tragedy mirrors our clients, which allows our firm to truly identify with victims. 

If you are dealing with the fallout from a catastrophic injury, the Elite Litigation Group at Bachus & Schanker can fight for your future. We have a vast network of experts in many areas ready to join our fight to get you compensated. 

Get the representation you deserve. Call us for a free consultation, or reach out online today. 

Contact us.

Citations:

Burns. (2023).
The Rules to Follow for Witnesses and Other Evidence.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Symptoms and Causes. (2021).