The Importance of Your Tampa Car Accident Attorney Calling Experts to Testify at Your Personal Injury Trial

Car accident cases in the Tampa, Florida area that don't become entangled in complex disagreements typically get settled for an acceptable sum well before the case ever goes to trial.

On the other hand, for the remainder of motor vehicle accident cases that do go to trial, there are often a number of complicated issues that a jury will have to consider before reaching a final verdict, whether your accident happened in downtown Tampa or surrounding communities such as Lutz, Seminole Heights, Brandon, Town ‘n' Country, or Clearwater.

In order for your Tampa car accident attorney to prove your case, it is necessary for your attorney to prepare you for trial as well as gather and present all the appropriate evidence. But your lawyer's job does not stop there. Attorneys also must be able to hire the very best experts to explain the evidence of your injuries to the jury so that you will ultimately win the best possible verdict.

For auto accident injury cases, there are experts available from a myriad of fields. The ones most often used in Tampa car accident trials include:

Auto accident reconstruction experts take the physical evidence that's available, as well as the testimony of witnesses and parties, in order to reconstruct for the jury what actually happened during the auto collision. Car accident reconstruction experts may use computer models and simulations, but they'll also often find a pencil and paper just as useful. In addition, they will utilize their background in engineering and physics in order to determine such things as the speed of the traveling vehicles, the forces that were generated upon impact, and the direction of those forces. In utilizing that background they will be able to use scientific fact to explain to the jury that the accident occurred in the manner in which the injured party testifies to.

A radiologist explains diagnostic studies such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs to a jury. Oftentimes, at-fault parties will claim that the condition suffered by the injured client was preexisting and that the negligent driver should not be blamed for having caused the injury. As a result, radiologists are often used to prove something that's called in legal terms “causation.” As in all aspects of a personal injury trial, the burden of proving that the at-fault party was the cause of the plaintiff's injuries resides with the plaintiff. In other words, the injured person has the burden of proof.

A vocational rehabilitation expert is able to testify about whether or not injured clients have limitations that prevent them from working in the type of career they had prior to the collision. These experts also can make recommendations to the jury about the type of work the injured client is capable of doing going forward. The expert will talk about any retraining necessary for the client to be able to obtain employment in a new career that accommodates his or her injuries, and give specific details about the costs of that training. They'll also be able to determine the expected loss of income, if there is one, between what the injured party did before the collision and what they are being forced to do afterwards.

An economist, as an expert at trial, explains the future costs of medical care and wage loss to the jury. This expert also is responsible for explaining the term “present value” to the jury. The point here is that the at-fault party is responsible today for medical bills that will have to be paid, and wages that won't be received, in the future. Therefore, it is important that the economist share with the jury how much they'll need to provide today for the expenses coming in the future. Otherwise, it will appear to the jury that you are asking for more than your client deserves.

Treating doctors are a unique type of expert. While they do offer their opinion as far as the injuries that occurred and whether they resulted from the collision, they are not what are commonly referred to as "hired guns." Accordingly, they have a unique place in a jury trial, in that their motivations are usually unquestioned and they are viewed as objective witnesses and therefore have greater credibility in front of the jury than hired experts.

It is important that your law firm has the experience and resources to hire the very best experts for your trial, whether your accident occurred in Sun City Center, Riverview, Carrollwood, Dade City, Seffner, or St Petersburg. Otherwise, experts whose credibility can be impeached in front of the jury can significantly harm your case and the verdict. Your law firm has to be willing to spend the time and the money necessary to hire only the best experts who not only have great credentials, but also have the ability to explain what can be very complex topics to a jury that has no knowledge of each expert's particular field. Experts are believed that are understood.

Our law firm believes in providing the best service to our clients, as well as in fighting for a just and fair result, whether that result is in a settlement or in a jury verdict. We have the compassion, dedication, commitment, and resources to provide you in your trial the experts who are considered to be among the very best in their fields.

To learn more about receiving this superior level of service, resources, and experience from your Tampa car accident attorney, please call our law firm or fill out the form on our "Do I Have a Case?" page.