Friday, March 29, 2019

Factors To Consider In Selecting An Engineering Expert Witness

By Anthony Murphy


When attorneys look for expert witnesses that they can hire for their case, what they will be looking into are the personal qualities of each person. Qualities that they believe would result to winning the case. Engineering expert witness quality vary from very poor to excellent. Attorneys would do their best just to find someone who can provide expert opinion for proving the case.

First, ensure that the expert would be willing to see your case until the end. A lot of professionals tends to avoid testimony and deposition, which is a problem. You need to make sure that the one you selected is willing and is able to fulfill the obligations. If necessary, be able to make a stand as well.

Confidence. Expert witnesses are usually examined by the opposing counsel to know how did they came to that opinion. They may also have to testify right in front of the jury or judge. Their goal for testifying is to make the people who are unfamiliar with the area of specialty believe in their opinion. A confident one can easily make the jury or judge believe in them.

Consistency. Many of them testify in a lot of cases, which is possible for them to not to remember all the things that they say in their depositions or reports, which can cause to inconsistencies. Being inconsistent can be of an advantage for the opposing party since they can point this out to diminish the opinion of the expert.

Experience. The person you are looking for has a detailed resume, wherein all the things that you need to know about them are listed. See if the education credential is on top, same goes for the experience level. To become effective, one has to gain experience first. Other experience to look into are teaching, public speaking, and other interpersonal activities.

Have options. Even if you have already worked with someone who has great experience from the past, consider going for a different direction this time. No case is the same, they are all unique. You can talk to some experts to make sure that the one you are about to select is truly the best one for the case at hand.

Trustworthiness. Your witness must be able to convince the other people. Being trustworthy starts with the appearance. That means, he or she must be dressed properly and professionally when in court. You can trust someone who is confidence and attentive all throughout. This also means, not ignoring the facts which makes your side unfavorable.

Pick someone whom you will be comfortable with the style and the approach that they select. As mentioned above, a litigation can be stressful. The process can go smoothly when the person you hired is easy to communicate with and is a trusted person. Communication is the key to success, ensure that you can easily communicate with him or her.

Good at improvising. During litigation, they should be prepared to all the questions that will be possibly thrown at them. They must be prepared to all unexpected questions. Attorney tends to use hypothetical questions in grilling witnesses and wait for the witness to say I do not know. Pick someone who can answer those questions right away.




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