Make Sure Your Workers' Comp Expert Witness Is Ready for a Deposition
Posted on: 4 January 2021
Your workers' compensation case will likely depend on what your expert witness says when they testify at a deposition. Therefore, both you and your workers' comp claim attorney will need to prepare the expert witness adequately for this role.
The Importance of an Expert Witness
You will need help from an expert witness to lend credibility to the case you are making so that your workers' compensation claim will be approved. If your workers' compensation claim goes to court, your expert witness will increase the odds that the judge will rule in your favor. The expert witness might need to participate in a deposition which is a series of questions asked before trial.
Select Your Expert Witness Carefully
Oftentimes, your workers' compensation attorney will have several expert witnesses who work for their law firm. However, there are other cases where you may need to work with an expert witness who has seen many patients with your condition and may not have necessarily served as an expert witness before. When an expert witness does not see enough patients, they might not be considered credible.
Provide the Expert with Your Medical Records
Before the deposition, you will want to make sure that the expert witness has read your medical records thoroughly. You must also make sure that the medical records arrive soon enough so that they will have time to adequately study them. Speak with your attorney about which medical records will be relevant. Records that are directly relevant to your case, such as treatments you have received for your injury that occurred at work, will usually be considered necessary.
Inform the Expert About the Issues That Might Come Up
The expert will need to be informed by your attorney regarding all of the issues that pertain to your case. For example, if your injury might be potentially affected by a pre-existing condition, your expert witness might need to be informed about this. Your expert witness will need to know how to respond to any objections that the other side will likely bring up.
If the expert has never participated in a deposition before, you will need to warn them not to argue with the defense and to not guess when the expert does not know something. Even if you have the best physician in the world, not being adequately prepared for a deposition can make it difficult for the expert witness to be persuasive. To learn more, contact a workers' compensation attorney.
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