Imagine going through a serious medical trauma and needing legal support to seek compensation from the health care provider. Usually, it’s beneficial to have an expert testimony from another surgeon or medical provider in the same field and with a similar skillset.
While an expert witness isn’t always needed, it’s helpful to have one in cases where you need to prove that the other party wronged you. Your attorney should be familiar with when an expert testimony is needed and when you could go without one.
While smaller cases may only need a physical medicine and rehabilitation, or PMR, doctor to go over your patient files and draw up a detailed report for the court, larger cases often need expert witnesses and testimonies to help the judge and jury understand your situation better. For example, an expert might state that the way your doctor handled your case is completely incongruent with the way the medical field expects professionals to act and wasn’t in line with the provider’s basic training. Without an expert, it might be difficult to assess what the real protocol is and where the doctor made an error.
What can you do if your attorney fails to secure a medical or science expert for your case?
If your attorney says that they will get an expert and fails to get one on board, then you could be in a difficult situation. The court may end up not ruling in your favor, because it just doesn’t have enough evidence to award you damages.
When failing to obtain an expert’s testimony is a result of an attorney’s mistakes, like failing to call experts or not responding to their inquiries about court dates or the information needed for your case, then you may be able to hold the attorney responsible with a legal malpractice case.
Legal malpractice cases help you get compensated when your original case has been lost or you cannot seek further compensation against the original defendant because of your attorney’s errors. You may want to look into this option if you lost your case because of an attorney’s mistakes.