When a client is seriously injured in a vehicular accident, the most obvious resource for injury expert witnesses are the physicians who treat the patient. But many times the unique characteristics of the client, or the type of medical complications call for a medical specialist with very specific expertise concerning the injuries for that particular person.
Here is an example from a case our Atlanta Georgia Personal Injury law firm handled: An elderly lady was t-boned at an intersection by a pickup truck which ran a red light. The obvious injuries on x-ray and CT scan showed fractures to the pelvis and ribs, a bruised lung and a cardiac contusion. Later x-rays showed healing fractures which the treating doctor said showed improvement.No long term problems were mentioned by this M.D.The reality, however, was that there was no real improvement.Our client was home bound in constant, horrific pain,she needed a wheelchair and she was extremely depressed.She showed no signs of getting better and her life seemed hopeless.
If we had simply relied upon the opinions of the treating doctors the full catastrophic nature of these injuries could not have been be proven. The solution? We had our client's medical condition evaluated by a highly respected orthopaedic surgeon with special knowledge, training and experience in geriatric medicine. This medical expert explained in depth how devastating these injuries were to someone in their late 80's. There is a world of difference in the level of suffering, the inability to heal, etc. in the elderly. These fractures could not be overcome by her and the heart & lung injuries are life threatening for so long as she lives.
So in every case we evaluate what the true impact of an injury is, not just the obvious test results and opinions of doctors who are not specialists.
Medical Doctors as Expert Witnesses in Georgia Auto Accident Cases
March 9, 2011
