Personal injury cases are complex and can involve both expert and lay witnesses. These people will help to prove your case and corroborate your claims.
Depending on the details of your case and the specifics of your claim, you may have a few or many witnesses, just laypeople or only experts, or both. Let’s look at how the different types of witnesses help you prove a case.
Lay Witnesses
Negligence cases are proven by showing that someone who owed you a duty of care breached that duty and caused your injury, resulting in compensable damages. That means you as the plaintiff must establish what happened. One way you do that is by gathering evidence from anyone who was at the scene of the incident in question.
Lay witnesses are people who have no particular expertise associated with the claim other than the fact they saw something relevant, whether at the scene of the incident or with respect to your injury and treatment.
There are two types of lay witnesses that you might employ in a negligence case — witnesses who saw what happened can testify about the accident and those who know you personally and observed you while injured can discuss that. The testimony of these two types of witnesses provides added support to the things you say.
Expert Witnesses
There are different types of expert witnesses, too. Depending on the type of case, you may need an expert to talk about engineering, or medicine, or the climate, or soil erosion or pretty much any other complex topic that is implicated in the case. Courts must certify a witness as an expert and who qualifies, as well as the procedure, is dictated by the rules of evidence.
Most often, although not exclusively, the experts called upon in negligence cases are doctors, and they testify about the extent of injury, the appropriate treatment now and in the future, and more. Expert witnesses can be quite expensive, charging not only to compile reports that support your claim but also to come in to court and testify in person. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need them.
Talk to a Lawyer
If you were injured speak to a lawyer. Tell your story and let counsel worry about what witnesses to call and even how to pay them. Many personal injury attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to discuss your situation, and many also take cases on contingency which means you will only pay legal fees if you recover damages. Get help.
Related Resources:
- Have an injury claim? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury)
- What Is a Subpoena? (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- In the Courtroom: Who Does What? (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- Do’s and Don’ts — Being a Witness (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- What Happens at Trial? (FindLaw’s Learn About
