Why You May Need a Legal Expert Witness for Neurology

When looking for a legal expert witness for neurology cases, attorneys should look for the best candidates who have extensive training, experience and practice in the treatment of various neurological disorders in both adults and children. A neurological expert witness should have the ability to explain complex neurological procedures, technical medical data, as well as, interpret medical opinions about a specific set of facts before a court of law.

It’s important to understand that neurological expert witnesses can have significant differences in their experience levels and backgrounds, and even come from a variety of specialty fields, such as neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, neuro-oncology, neuropathy among others. Below, we’re going to look at what entails expert witness testimony in neurological cases and the various reasons why a neurology expert witness is vital to your case.

Neurological expert witness

Understanding Neurological Expert Witness Testimony

The main purpose of a neurological expert witness is to provide testimony to assist a court to understand the medical evidence presented or to determine the medical facts at issue. These expert witnesses can be brought for any types of cases related to neurology or its wide range of sub-specialties. A legal expert witness for neurology can give testimony or opinions on:

  • Standard of care in neurology
  • Pain medication issues
  • Medical malpractice cases
  • Standard of care for pain management
  • State medical board cases
  • Central and peripheral nerve injuries and others

In neurological cases where medical malpractice is involved, the expert witnesses may be requested to provide an opinion that:

  • Clearly describes the most current clinical status and prognosis of a claimant who alleges medical malpractice as the cause of their injury
  • Accurately describes the standards of care, and specifies any violations that may have occurred of these standards, and indicates whether any such violations caused any harm to the claimant

When choosing a legal expert witness for neurology, attorneys should be careful to only choose individuals with extensive knowledge, experience and the best reputation when it comes to providing expert witness services. Most states do have specific regulations as to the type of medical expert witness that can be used in what type of case, so choose correctly.

What Attorneys Should be Looking for in a Neurological Expert Witness

When trying to resolve a complex neurological case, an attorney seeks to understand the medicine of the case, how the facts of the case establish the medicine, any implications of the said facts and the medicine in determining the case outcome and damages, as well as the extent of the neurologist’s knowledge of the facts and the medicine of the case, as that is also likely to be challenged by the opposing legal team.

As an attorney, it’s advisable to get clear clarification as to the nature of the medical-legal request in order to determine whether it’s comprehensively structured from the medical perspective, the amount of time and effort that will be needed to prepare witness testimony and whether the legal expert witness for neurology has the needed expertise and sufficient information needed to competently respond to the request.

Why Neurological Expert Witnesses Are Crucial to Your Case

Neurological expert witness roles

Neurological expert witnesses have a number of primary duties and responsibilities. Their primary role is to assist the court or tribunal on all matters falling within their neurological expertise, and aren’t bound to the party that has appointed them for their services or is paying their fees. Their expert witness testimony should be independent, unbiased and impartial to the court or tribunal.

Considering that a witness expert plays a critical role in determining the outcome of a neurological case, it’s important to understand why hiring the right one is critical to your case. Here are some the main reasons why you should work with a legal expert witness for neurology:

  • A neurological expert witness provides an objective and evidence-based opinion, in relation to matters within their expertise. This applies at all stages of the neurological case in relation to the evidence to be presented at trial. Expert witnesses never assume the role of an advocate.
  • They provide necessary evidence that is confined to technical matters on which the court or tribunal is to be assisted. Their work is to provide concrete explanations regarding common professional practice in the neurological case before court, without giving their own opinion or evidence as to what they would have done in similar circumstances.
  • They cooperate with the expert witness of the other party or parties involved in the neurological case to attempt and narrow down the technical issues involved in the dispute at the earliest possible stage of the case, and to eliminate or place in real context any peripheral issues. They also help work out areas of agreement in neurological cases and define precisely areas of disagreement that are usually set out in the joint statement of experts ordered by the court.
  • They conduct a medical evaluation of a party, including doing personal interviews and examinations or reviews of medical records or other relevant data that could be used to come up with credible and defensible expert witness testimony. Based on these steps, they are able to formulate an expert witness opinion that can presented and stand before a court or tribunal.
  • They state the facts of the case or assumptions upon which their expert witness opinion is based, without omitting any material facts that could detract from their concluded medical opinion.
  • They make it clear whenever a particular issue or question regarding the neurological case falls outside of their expertise. They also explicitly say when their opinion is based on inadequate conclusions or factual information.
  • They provide the necessary expert witness evidence, including plans, photographs, analysis reports, survey reports, calculations, medical reports and other relevant documents to the other party as the same time as the exchange of reports, saving you a lot of time in the litigation process.

Working With the Right Neurological Expert Witness

A legal expert witness for neurology provides testimony on a wide range of topics relating to brain, nerves and spinal cord, and often times, is needed to testify to the degree of injury, level of disability and treatment plans in a claimant’s case. Through the testimony provided by the neurology expert witness, attorneys can help further prove the damages in a claimant’s case and seek more compensation to cover the expected future costs.

If you’re looking for a neurology expert witness to support a claimant’s case, look no further but Arrowhead Evaluation Services. We have the largest network of expert witnesses in California, and work closely with legal representatives and their clients to help them choose the best and most reputable neurology expert witnesses to support their cases in court. Want to learn more about expert witness services? Contact us now at (888) 888-0098.