The Role of Expert Witnesses in Motorcycle Injury Cases

When you decide to seek compensation after a motorcycle accident, your attorney will be your main source of information and legal support. However, depending on the details of your case, your attorney may also bring in outside experts to strengthen your claim and give them a better understanding of the intricacies of your accident. Expert witnesses may either serve in a consulting role and help attorneys explore different legal strategies or they may serve as testifying witnesses.

Learn more about the various ways expert witnesses may help with your motorcycle injury claim. If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle crash, call Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman at 866-565-4949 to set up a consultation with our team.

Establishing Liability

Determining liability is a key role that an expert witness may play in your personal injury claim. To know who is responsible for your injuries—and as a result, who is responsible for compensating you—you have to know what happened. An accident reconstruction specialist can use the evidence available to recreate the accident scene, determine the speeds of the involved parties, and outline the events that unfolded during the crash. This type of input is crucial when it comes to establishing liability, especially in complex motorcycle accident claims.

How Medical Experts Can Help Explain Injuries

Motorcycle accidents often lead to complex injuries, due to the minimal protection motorcyclists have from their riding gear and helmet. It can be difficult to understand how those injuries can affect your mobility, ability to work, pain levels, and overall quality of life. Medical experts may be brought in to explain the physical and mental trauma caused by your motorcycle accident injuries in a way that everyone can understand. This is important when you’re seeking substantial compensation since a jury cannot accurately determine how much you’re owed if they do not understand your injuries. 

The Role of Mechanical and Engineering Experts

Accidents aren’t always the result of a driver’s or rider’s negligence. In some cases, mechanical or design failures cause serious collisions. When a design or manufacturing flaw leaves you injured, it’s likely that your attorney will turn to mechanical and engineering expert witnesses. These are very intricate areas of knowledge, and a general overview of what went wrong simply is not enough to prove liability. 

An engineering expert will be able to investigate the motorcycle’s components, compare them to industry standards, and explain how defects could have led to the crash in question. They may go further to explain whose negligence led to the defect in question. In some cases, the error occurs at the design stage. In others, the flaw is a result of the manufacturer’s poor choice of materials or inaccurate interpretation of a design.

Insight From Economic and Vocational Experts

Many motorcycle accident victims are left unable to work. They either have to decrease their hours, change their work duties, or leave the workforce entirely. This is a massive loss both to the individual and their family. A loss of work can leave people feeling untethered and unproductive, resulting in an overall lower quality of life. On top of that, a permanent loss of income can have a profound impact on a family’s stability and enjoyment of life. 

Your attorney may bring in a vocational expert who can explain the financial consequences of the accident. They may explore the immediate financial losses you’ve sustained, as well as the earnings you’re likely to lose out on in the future. They account for complex factors like lost advancement and pay raise opportunities, rehabilitative costs, and ongoing medical care costs. Their insight is especially valuable for victims who were the breadwinners of their families prior to their injuries, as they may need substantial compensation to provide their families with ongoing financial security.

Ready to Start Your Claim? Call Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman Today

When you work with a strong legal team, you can feel confident that they’ll hire the right experts for your case. At Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman, we will tap into the best resources for your case to help you fight for compensation. Take the first step now by calling us at 866-565-4949 or contacting us online. Our Pittsburgh motorcycle accident attorneys look forward to helping you.