How Expert Witnesses Can Help With Your Construction Accident Claim
Construction workers are among the nation’s workers at greatest risk for injury every time they clock in. This notoriously dangerous industry puts workers in contact with massive, powerful equipment and forces them to rely on the knowledge and caution of other people. When workers are injured, they are generally entitled to workers’ compensation. In other cases, they can seek compensation via a third party claim. In either case, they may need to talk to a Southern California workers’ compensation attorney to explore their options and assert their rights. If you’ve suffered an injury on a construction site, don’t wait any longer to contact Pisegna & Zimmerman. We make it as easy as possible to start your claim, thanks to our Zoom-ready team and our ability to handle legal documents with DocuSign. Call us at 818-888-8888 to schedule your consultation now.
Some of the greatest dangers that construction workers face are slips, trips, and falls. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nearly 20% of all workplace deaths in 2021 came from the construction industry. Of those, more than one-third were caused by slips, trips, and falls.
Should you become injured, your attorney may turn to expert witnesses to strengthen your injury claim. Learn more about their role in your case.
What is an Expert Witness?
While eyewitnesses actually see your injury happen, expert witnesses provide valuable insight in a different way. They have specialized knowledge, education, or experience in a field relevant to your accident. This is important in construction accidents, since they often involve highly technical pieces of equipment, complex injuries, and severe economic effects that the regular layperson cannot understand. Without that understanding, it’s impossible for an insurance adjuster or jury to decide what fair compensation is.
Types of Expert Witnesses in Construction Cases
Depending on the details of your accident and injury, your attorney may turn to a number of different expert witnesses throughout your case. Potential experts include:
- Medical experts: If your injuries are particularly complex or unusual, it may be hard to prove the effect they’ll have on your life moving forward. Medical experts may comment on the severity of injuries and causation, making it easier to link another person’s negligence to your injuries. They can also comment on an injury’s prognosis or likely outcome.
- Engineering experts: Engineering experts can be an excellent resource in this type of claim. They can provide insight into the structural integrity or flaws in buildings, equipment, and machinery involved in accidents. Additionally, they can comment on whether flaws contributed to an accident and whether those flaws should have been discovered by management.
- Accident reconstruction experts: These professionals are often brought in when construction workers are hurt in car accidents. However, they can also reconstruct accidents involving other types of machinery or vehicles.
- Construction site safety experts: Safety experts know the intense safety requirements that construction sites must follow. Their analysis can help determine whether or not safety violations played a role in an accident.
Different Ways an Construction Accident Lawyer Can Strengthen Your Claim
An expert witness’s input can strengthen your construction accident injury claim at every step of the process. Their analysis can help your attorney establish liability by showing which errors or flaws led to the accident in question. Their expertise can also showcase the link between another party’s actions and the injuries you sustained, further proving liability. An expert’s input can be used to assess damages. For example, a medical expert may be able to analyze the medical expenses associated with your accident, or an economic expert may calculate the lifetime loss of income caused by your injuries.
Depending on whether your case goes to court or not, expert witnesses may make their case to insurance adjusters or to a jury. They can be helpful in settlement negotiations if the insurance company is unwilling to recognize the extent of your losses or their client’s role in them. Should your case go to court, an expert witness can simplify complex topics for the jury and make highly technical concepts more understandable.
Start Your Claim With the Construction Accident Attorneys at Pisegna & Zimmerman
The construction accident lawyers at Pisegna & Zimmerman knows how to use expert witnesses and other sources of evidence to create the strongest case possible for you. Let’s talk about your next steps and come up with a plan for your construction accident claim. Give us a call at 818-888-8888 or contact us online to set up a consultation. With our Zoom availability and DocuSign capabilities, you don’t even have to leave home to start your case.
William Zimmerman is an experienced Los Angeles work injury attorney at Pisegna & Zimmerman. He offers invaluable advice and assistance when dealing with the often complicated workers’ compensation system. As part of Pisgena & Zimmerman, he and his team are a full-service law firm that is dedicated to obtaining the maximum amount of compensation from all available sources.