Use Of Experts In Fort Worth Wrongful Death Cases
When a loved one is killed in a fatal accident, it is best to retain the services of a knowledgeable wrongful death attorney. A lawyer could investigate the fatal accident and help families hold the negligent party accountable. For many wrongful death cases, the role of an expert witness in a Fort Worth wrongful death case is most important. The attorney hires expert witnesses to make their case, and the background of the experts is a large part of the damages.
Most Common Types Of Expert Witnesses
There are numerous examples of different types of experts who prove the defendant’s liability or negligence. The person’s field of expertise depends on the circumstances that led to the accident and the cause of death. There are different types of experts.
Liability Experts
Liability experts are often needed to help prove the defendant was responsible for the incident, which caused the person’s death. Examples of liability experts are individuals with proficiency in accident reconstruction, engineering, biomechanical engineering, medicine, and physics.
Reconstruction Experts
When a motor vehicle accident caused another person’s death, and there is a dispute about who caused the accident, the wrongful death attorney might hire an accident reconstruction expert to review the facts and circumstances of the collision and offer an opinion about how the accident occurred.
The expert may visit the scene of the accident, take measurements and photographs, and collect other evidence to determine how the accident happened. Sometimes, expert witnesses are legally necessary to establish liability or negligence in a wrongful death case. This is especially true for medical malpractice cases.
Medical Experts
Medical expertise in Texas is necessary to prove that the individual’s physician violated the standard of care, which led to the patient’s death. A causation expert could be brought in when there is a dispute about how the person died.
Often, but not always, this is theorized in medical negligence or malpractice case. For example, the decedent may have had other medical conditions or injuries that conceivably could have caused death. Medical negligence needs to be a proximate cause of the person’s death. A medical expert like a pathologist or coroner may be necessary to establish the cause of death. An autopsy or forensic examination of the body might be necessary.
Experts to Determine Damages
Frequent use of experts address the issue of damages and establish the economic and non-economic damages. Different classification of damages may be sought in the wrongful death case, depending on the facts of the case and the legal issues involved.
An experienced wrongful death lawyer hires the best expert to help uncover and explain certain evidence. This increases the likelihood of a successful result. The classification of damage experts falls into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.
The term economic damages refer to tangible damages that are easier to calculate and include lost wages, medical expenses, future income loss, or loss of net accumulation to the individual’s estate. Some examples of economic damage experts include economists, medical experts, accountants, vocational experts, and life care planners.
Discrediting The Defense’s Expert Witness
A Fort Worth wrongful death lawyer establishes conflict and discredits the defense’s background of the expert witnesses. They examine previous depositions a defense expert gave and try to use them against the expert witness. The attorney may reach out to other attorneys in the state who previously deposed an expert witness and obtain the deposition records to use them to discredit the expert witness.
Schedule a Consultation With a Wrongful Death Attorney
It could be difficult for a family to recover compensation without the legal help of a skilled wrongful death attorney. These cases are extremely challenging to litigate. Wrongful death suits require extensive pre-trial discovery, including depositions, interrogatories, medical testimony, actual accounting, extrapolations, and more.
When handling a wrongful death case and preparing for trial, a wrongful death attorney could fully prepare you and your family of what to expect. They will know what is needed to succeed, such as the use of experts in Fort Worth wrongful death cases. Call today to learn more about how a local attorney could help your family.