Expert witnesses in McAllen, Texas Trucking Accidents
Texas Rule of Evidence 702 is the starting point for any expert testimony. It states:
“A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue.”
Expert witnesses can testify about liability responsible parties involved in the accident; or they can testify about industry safety standards that were violated when the accident occurred; they can also testify about damages and make calculations as to how much the victim is owed.
In order for a person to testify in court as an expert the person must meet the requirement of an “expert” in their field of testimony (for instance, a doctor will testify about medical issues and not about safety standards in slip and fall cases). The rules of evidence guide Texas courts by requiring the proposed expert to demonstrate that they have a specialized training, knowledge, or skill in the area they are testifying about. If the court finds the person to be a qualified expert, he or she can offer conclusions on the matter they are testifying about.
After a serious trucking accident, experts are often hired to help breakdown the liability for each of the defendants (to help identify how is most responsible for causing the accident or by not taking some action that caused the accident). An expert can also help calculate damages such as medical treatment in the future, or how much in lost wages the victim is expected to endure throughout his life. And just as the Plaintiff will hire experts, so will the Defendant to minimize liability and minimize lost wages and medical bills.
An example may be helpful on this point: there is a national retail company called Massive-Mart that sells everything under the sun drives local mom and pop shops out of business. And the driver for Massive-Mart causes a horrible accident. Even though the truck bears Massive Mart’s name, they do not own the truck or employ the driver. Massive-Mart leases the trucks from local trucking companies. It is local trucking companies that hire, train and direct the drivers. The plaintiff’s attorney is likely to hire several experts to assess the liability of the driver, Massive-Mart , the local leasing company and employer. An accident reconstructionist will recreate the accident to demonstrate what happened and when. And an expert in trucking industry driver safety standards will review the driver’s route logs, personnel records, hours worked, and training history to determine whether the lease company driver was told to driver in longer shifts than he should have been allowed. Or perhaps the company did not hire a driver who had sufficient experience driving in the weather conditions. The expert may also find Massive-Mart hired the cheapest company to do the driving despite the local company having a long history of mismanagement.
Suppose the victim in the above example suffered a broken leg and severe concussion, additional experts may be necessary to explain the severity of the injury and what the future prognosis is for the victim—headaches and memory loss from the concussion—loss of some function of the leg from permanent damage to the bone, nerve or muscle. Vocational experts may be hired to discuss what kind of jobs will be available to the victim after recovering.
Trucking cases are very complex. The trucking companies and their insurance companies have deep pockets to fight against you; and they will do everything in their power to give you as little money as possible and blame you for your own demise as much as possible. Hiring a lawyer quickly can help you get all you are entitled to.
If you have been injured in a car accident, contact The McAllen Personal Injury Lawyer today for a free consultation at 956-501-6565.
