Expert Witnesses in Cherry Hill Nursing Home Abuse Cases

There are multiple definitions of an expert witness in Cherry Hill. Every case is unique about who could qualify as an expert. What the person is looking for is an individual who is an expert in the same field as they are pursuing damages in.

For instance, if it is in a nursing home setting, and the individual accused is a licensed nurse, then an attorney will want the expert to be a licensed nurse. If the accused individual is a doctor, then a lawyer will attempt to get a doctor of the same specialty in as an expert witness.

The expert has to match up with the person that committed the negligence, as they are able to testify about how that person deviated from the normal standard of care. To best understand the role of an expert witness in your Cherry Hill nursing home abuse case, it is imperative to consult with an experienced Cherry Hill nursing home abuse attorney as soon as possible.

Types of Expert Witnesses

Every case is unique in which experts an attorney is going to use. Usually, there are two separate categories of experts.

Liability Experts

The first is going to be liability experts. That is how an attorney will prove that the nursing home and the staff deviated from the standard of care. That is usually going to be medical experts who are within the same field as the defendants, whether they are doctors or geriatric nurses. They are going to be able to show a jury and explain in a report how that nursing home and its staff deviated from the standard of care.

Damages Experts

The other category of experts that are used in Cherry Hill nursing home abuse cases are the damages experts. These are the experts who are going to talk about the impact that this deviation has now had on the individual. An attorney could be dealing with medical experts with regard to injuries themselves. They may also be dealing with economic experts to discuss the effect that this has had on the person’s earning potential or medical bill issues.

The person may also have what is called a life care planner involved. If that individual who is injured needs more medical treatment for the rest of their lives, as a result of this injury, the person might need a life care planner. The role and presence of an expert witness in a Cherry Hill nursing home abuse case depends solely on the elements of the case.

Utilizing an Expert Witness

In the state of New Jersey, the person has to have an expert witness on a Cherry Hill nursing home abuse case or the court will dismiss the person’s case forever. There is a statute known as the affidavit of merit statute, which requires, whether the person is dealing with nursing home malpractice or medical malpractice, any licensed professional that is being sued for malpractice to have an expert sign an affidavit of merit within 120 days of filing their complaint.

That says this person or this facility deviated from the standard of care. Without that affidavit of merit signed by an expert, the person’s case will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it is dismissed forever and cannot be reopened.

Becoming an Expert Witness

To become an expert witness, a person has to have the appropriate training, license, background, and credentials. Every case is different in how an attorney goes about finding and utilizing experts. The person must be qualified by the court to become an expert witness.

Benefit of a Connected Lawyer

The benefits of hiring an attorney that has a longstanding relationship with expert witnesses is that, many times, the amount of records an attorney is dealing with in a nursing home abuse case is massive. These are records that need to be analyzed, evaluated, and looked through to determine if there was a deviation from the standard of care.

If the lawyer the person is hiring does not have a relationship with local experts, it may be difficult to get an expert willing to sit down and look through all of those records.

An expert witness can give the person a candid and frank analysis about what happened and determine whether or not there was a deviation from the standard of care. An attorney that has a strong relationship with expert witnesses can help an individual get the answers they need quickly and efficiently.