Expert Witnesses: Who are they and what can they do for your case?

Expert witnesses are different than lay or “normal” witnesses because they are allowed to share their opinion on a matter. Lay witnesses are only able to testify as to what they saw or what they heard. Under the Colorado Rules of Evidence 702, Expert witnesses are defined as “A witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, expertise, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise.” So who exactly are they? Expert witnesses can vary per case. They could be your treating providers, engineers, we have even used a brake technician as an expert witness before. You need to make sure you have the right experts for your specific case. For example, I have had a case where a guy was hit on a bicycle and got an MRI and CT scan done, however neither test showed any damage. That is when I found a neuroradiologist. This neuroradiologist lives in Las Vegas and is the doctor that assesses boxers to see if they have had too much brain damage and therefore need to stop boxing. He did an assessment on my client and found that the MRI and CT scan were not strong enough tests, he needed a 3 Tesla or a 1.5 Tesla MRI. Therefore, he was able to spot these red dots pictured below known as Coup-Contracoup Shearing. Without the help of an expert in that field, this would have been impossible to diagnose under a normal MRI or CT scan. This goes to show the importance of finding the best expert witness for your case.