A Quick Guide to Legal Expert Testimony for Business

In 2020, the “1,548 rulings on workplace-related litigation in the U.S. last year set a new record high,” according to the 17th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report.

As a professional or legal practitioner, you understand how important one witness can be to an entire case. When working with a vocational legal expert, you or your company will gain the insight and perspective of a qualified professional, strengthening the credibility of your case.

This guide briefly explains the basics that you need to know about hiring a legal expert for expert testimony and how to work with them.

What is a Legal Expert Witness?

An expert witness or “vocational legal expert witness” is an individual who has education or expertise in a specific profession or field that goes beyond that of a layperson. The responsibility of the legal expert witness is to provide the court with an unbiased opinion within their expertise.

However, ahHn expert witness is not the same as an expert adviser. A legal team engages an expert adviser to speak about that party’s claim or defense. An expert adviser’s primary responsibility is to the party employing him, not to the court.

An expert witness or vocational witness will provide impartial expert analysis on their given subject in line with the instructions given to them. These instructions are included in the expert witness’s report, which will be reviewed by the opposing party and the court.

When evaluating whether a witness is eligible to serve as an expert witness, the courts do not follow strict criteria. Instead, the expert’s credentials are assessed on a case-by-case basis, based on the circumstances.

The key qualification is whether the selected jury will obtain a meaningful perspective from them on the subject in question, not whether they use their knowledge and expertise professionally or commercially.

What to Expect When You Hire an Expert Witness

An expert witness must follow the appropriate process guidelines as well as any orders in the matter. A legal expert witness must provide honest, unbiased, and independent opinions, whether or not they support your argument.

An expert witness (or vocational witness) has a primary obligation to the court. This responsibility outweighs any duty due to you. However, you are still obligated to pay the expert’s fees.

The court expects expert witnesses to be impartial and unbiased and will disregard evidence from those who are or appear to be prejudiced.

An expert witness is not your advocate. They will not argue your case for you, nor will they collect evidence or make recommendations about what your case should include.

It is your responsibility, or the responsibility of your legal counsel, to campaign for your case. Vocational law cases are particularly difficult; it is always recommended that you also hire consulting services to assist with them.

Hire or Retain a Legal Expert for Expert Witness Testimony Today!

Retaining legal experts for witness testimony can prove pivotal during legal proceedings. At Solutions Northwest Inc., our team of experienced legal experts and vocational consultants are here to help.

Our vocational experts are involved in personal injury, workers’ compensation, and family law.
If you need our guidance, our legal experts are ready to guide you through the process. Contact us today to make an appointment.

Subscribe to our blog for more work related tips from Solutions Northwest, Inc., experts available in: Seattle, WA, Tacoma, WA, Olympia, WA, Vancouver, WA, Kent, WA Renton, WA, Beaverton, WA.

Contact the Vocational Consultants at Solutions Northwest Inc. Below:

Each year, hundreds of thousands of workplace injuries occur in the US. These injuries come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from construction job hazards to repetitive injuries from desk work.

When these workplace injuries occur, workers carry out a personal injury case. As an attorney or business owner, you’ll likely assist with several of these over time.

Adding a Vocational Legal Expert to your team will provide your client with the best outcome. If you’re curious about what to expect in a personal injury case, read on as we guide you through the steps of a personal injury lawsuit.

Personal Injury Vocational Evaluations

When a worker becomes injured, they often lose their income for a period. First, a pre-injury vocational evaluation will be conducted. At this time, the evaluation will determine the  client’s earning capacity prior to their injury. There are several tools and approaches to get accurate vocational evaluations and vocational assessments.

Once the pre-injury evaluation is completed, the post-injury evaluations begin. Post-injury evaluations consider the extent of a client’s injury and gauge how much they can hope to earn in the future.

A vocational assessment also occurs at this time. These assessments focus on the client’s interests, skills, physical abilities, and prior work history. Evaluators will also consider medical records and conduct a clinical interview with the client.

These steps help determine what the client will need financially and what they can earn in the future. This way, everyone can enter the court with a clearly defined statement of how much money the client needs for their injury.

Pretrial Phases of a Personal Injury Case

Next, are the three pretrial phases of the personal injury case. These three phases are the complaint/answer phase, discovery phase, and motions phase.

The complaint refers to the document detailing the client’s allegations on how they became injured and the extent of their damages. Once this complaint is filed, the defendant answers it by admitting or denying guilt.

Next, is the discovery phase. At this time, the team will gather testimony, evidence, documentation, and other information about the case from other parties.

Finally, there’s the motions phase. This stage allows the defendant to file a motion for the court to act on their behalf. The defendant usually asks the court to dismiss one or more claims made against them by your client.

Trial and Post Trial

Finally, the client’s party and the defending party must appear in court. Here, both sides make their case to the judge. The goal is to convince the judge that the defendant is responsible for the client’s injury and to grant sufficient damage fees.

Usually, this goes well for the claimant. But, sometimes, a defendant may appeal to a higher court to reconsider the ruling. This is why using an experienced vocational law team is vital.

Prepare for a Personal Injury Case

Conducting each phase of a personal injury case may seem beyond your paygrade. If so, don’t worry! You don’t have to do this alone.  Instead, you can work with our vocational experts at Solutions Northwest Inc. to receive the best personal injury vocational evaluation on the market! We analyze your client’s loss of earnings and their future earning capacity.

This way, you can focus on what you do best in the legal proceedings. So, contact us today to receive the evaluation your client needs!

At Solutions Northwest Inc., we can help you find a vocational expert or give you general vocational consulting. Our vocational experts are involved in personal injury, workers’ compensation, and family law.

If you need our guidance, our legal experts are ready to guide you through the process.

Contact us today to make an appointment.

Subscribe to our blog for more work related tips from Solutions Northwest, Inc., experts available in: Seattle, WA, Tacoma, WA, Olympia, WA, Vancouver, WA, Kent, WA Renton, WA, Beaverton, WA.

Contact the Vocational Consultants at Solutions Northwest Inc. Below: