Pedestrian accident cases can require expert witnesses to provide valuable insights into your case’s technical or scientific aspects. These specialists can clarify your injuries’ severity and right to compensation to the jury or judge your right to compensation.
The NY Rules of Evidence allow car accident lawyers to call expert witnesses when their testimony presents specialized information beyond the common knowledge of ordinary people. Expert witness relevance, credibility, objectivity, and compatibility with legal strategy are all important when choosing an expert witness.
Medical Experts
Pedestrian accidents can lead to devastating injuries that dramatically impact the victim’s future quality of life. In addition to hospital bills and immediate medical expenses, victims are typically required to pursue compensation for non-economic losses such as pain and suffering and lost wages due to missed workdays.
Expert witnesses are essential in pedestrian accident litigation because they can demonstrate these damages by offering unbiased, expert opinions supporting claims and influencing juries. They support evidence such as police reports, accident reconstruction diagrams, eyewitness accounts, and surveillance footage.
In addition to establishing liability, these experts can also serve an essential role in helping plaintiffs secure fair monetary settlements from insurance companies. They can clearly understand the severity of your injuries, the necessary treatments, and the projected financial impact on your life. That makes it difficult for the defense to devalue or dispute your claim. The insurance company is more likely to make a reasonable offer.
Vehicle Safety Experts
As with any motor vehicle accident, it is crucial to demonstrate that the driver breached their duty of care. It could indicate that the motorist was inattentive or neglected to yield the right of way when appropriate in the case of a pedestrian. Evidence such as traffic camera footage, eyewitness statements, and the victim’s medical records can help establish this element of negligence.
As for the pedestrian, they must adhere to specific standards of conduct. These include using crosswalks, obeying pedestrian traffic signals, and staying alert to their surroundings. However, even the most careful of pedestrians can find themselves in unforeseen circumstances where they must enter traffic unexpectedly.
In these cases, a kinesiologist who can testify about the plaintiff’s travel speed may prove helpful. It can assist in establishing that the defendant should have been able to see the plaintiff when the accident occurred, especially if a parked car or curve obscured visibility.
Economists
Most pedestrian accidents occur because of driver negligence, and determining that negligence occurred is the key to pursuing compensation for victims. In these cases, experts are invaluable for establishing the facts that support a claim.
Economists can help paint a complete picture of victims’ economic losses, ensuring they are awarded fair compensation. Economists can also assist during discovery by analyzing employment records, tax returns, retirement benefits, and other financial documents.
An attorney who regularly consults with these experts will be better prepared to counter tactics used by at-fault parties or their insurance companies to reduce or deny a victim’s claim. In addition, a lawyer who regularly consults with these experts can work on a contingency fee basis, making it easier for injured people to seek legal representation. This arrangement can save families significant amounts of money in the long run. It is particularly crucial in light of the high expense of medical care and lost income resulting from pedestrian accidents.
Human Factors Experts
A human factors expert can testify how a person’s understanding, perceptions, and abilities contribute to accidents. These experts can analyze the human elements involved in a pedestrian accident case and shed light on whether any failures in design, engineering, or warnings could have contributed to the incident.
Plaintiff attorneys should consider involving a human factors expert in any accident reconstruction case involving a pedestrian. These experts are experienced in analyzing various factors, including nighttime visibility, downloading black box data, eye-tracking research, reaction times, and blind spots.
They can also illustrate that a car driver owes a duty of ordinary care to other people and must watch for pedestrians. In cases where a child is a victim, it may be helpful to consult a kinesiologist to conduct tests, testify how fast the children usually walk, and compare that speed to what was presumed from studies.
