Sunday, 10 January 2016

Expert Witness Personal Injury Damages Orange County

By Douglas McDonald


Personal injury cases may require evidence or proof of the alleged damages suffered by the party alleging the loss. In legal terms this party is called the plaintiff, the person bringing the action. The person or party being sued is called the defendant. The plaintiff in a personal injury suit alleges that they suffered some type of personal loss due to the negligence of the defendant. In these types of suits, the plaintiff may seek the services of an expert witness personal injury damages Orange County.

Truth is stranger than fiction, and the underlying facts of these cases runs the gamut from expected to outrageous. The plaintiff must present evidence that the injury in fact occurred, and that the defendant is the party responsible for the harm because he or she was negligent.

You name a field and there is an expert witness for it. Some have broad areas of expertise, while others are very narrow and specialized. In most personal injury lawsuits, the plaintiff is alleging some medical harm. In this instance, a physician would testify to the extent of the medical harm. The physician may further testify that before the incident, the plaintiff did not have this medical issue.

In the same case, the plaintiff may need a finance expert to assess the amount of damages, or losses, he or she sustained. If the plaintiff suffered permanent disability from which he or she will not recover, such as blindness or permanent damage to the spine that resulted in paralysis, the finance expert will take all the facts into consideration and estimate the amount of earnings lost due to the injury.

Age and earning potential factor into the total value of the estimated losses. A young movie star who makes ten million dollars a film and has lucrative endorsement contracts will have losses in the multi millions. An elderly man living on a fixed income with advanced lung cancer will have substantially less in terms of lost income. All these facts and others factor into the estimated amount of lost income.

The witness in this scenario will only attest to the lost income. He or she is not qualified to attest to any other facts or allegations, such as whether or not the defendant was negligent. Witnesses cannot venture from their area of expertise.

These witnesses charge an hourly fee. The range of fees is very broad, as low as two hundred fifty and as high as one thousand dollars per hour. If the plaintiff prevails, the witness fees will be deducted from the settlement or award. Experts are expensive, but it is impossible to bring a matter to trial without the use of at least one expert witness. In many cases there are several expert witnesses.

Orange County is home to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. It is the third most populated county in California. Several of the cities located in the County are affluent and well educated. The County residents can be litigious. There are many personal injury law firms that are well connected with all manner of experts. If you have a strong case, they will be pleased to represent you.




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