Working on the railroad is one of the most intense jobs that there is, and it’s very common for railroad workers to suffer serious injuries over the course of their career. If you’re a railway worker who has been the victim of an on the job injury, you may be considering filing a personal injury lawsuit to pay for your medical expenses and lost wages. However, to win your lawsuit, you will need to prove your employer’s negligence, which can be extremely difficult.
In order to prove negligence in your personal injury lawsuit, a good idea is to hire an expert witness. Learn about the role of expert witness in a railroad worker injury case and find out how an attorney can help with your personal injury suit.
What an Expert Witness Does
The role of the expert witness in your personal injury suit will largely depend on the testimony you are hiring for. Typically, your witness will be a medical expert who is responsible for clearly describing your injuries to a jury so that they understand the severity of your injuries and why your employer was culpable.
In addition to providing testimony once your case is underway, an expert witness can also determine whether your suit ever makes it to trial. Many judges require expert witnesses to research your accident and submit a report to the court before your case will be heard. So, an expert witness plays a crucial role both before and during your personal injury suit.
Picking the Right Witness
Since you usually won’t have experience selecting witnesses for a railroad worker injury case, your attorney will pick your witness. The expert that your attorney selects for your case will generally have a good amount of experience in the type of injuries that you have suffered, as an inexperienced witness will usually hurt your case.
There are several criteria that your lawyer may take into account when choosing a witness. In addition to experience with your injuries, your attorney may want your witness to be familiar with the trial process, and may even look for a medical expert who has testified on both sides of a railroad injury case. This can eliminate accusations of bias and can give more weight to your expert witness’ testimony.
Expert Witness Cost
As you might expect, hiring an expert witness can be very expensive. The price range for a medical expert can range between $100 and $1,000 an hour, and costs can mount the longer you need your witness for your trial. Fortunately, you usually won’t be required to pay for an expert witness yourself. Instead, your attorney will hire them and will then recoup their costs from your settlement.
For example, imagine that you hired your attorney on the basis of a 20% contingency fee and they paid $5,000 for your expert witness. If your settlement is $100,000, your attorney will take $25,000—$20,000 for their own fee and $5,000 for the expert witness.
Get Help for Your Railroad Worker Injury Case
If you’re planning a railroad worker injury case and need legal representation, you should contact the professionals at the Disparti Law Group. Every member of the Disparti Law Group is ready, willing and able to serve you, and we can help with every aspect of your case, including finding an expert witness.
Contact us today.
