Expert Witnesses and Scientific Evidence
Expert Fundamentals
An expert witness may testify in the form of an opinion, unlike lay witnesses who are generally limited to facts they perceived. Qualification rests on knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education relevant to the subject.
Experts fall into categories with different disclosure obligations: retained experts engaged for litigation, non-retained experts such as treating physicians, and consulting experts who advise counsel without testifying.
Alternative Names:
Testifying Expert, Expert
Why it Matters?
In complex litigation, expert testimony often is the case. Causation in toxic tort and medical malpractice, defect in product liability, and future damages in catastrophic injury all require expert proof, which means excluding an opponent's expert frequently ends the claim. Expert strategy therefore starts at the pleading stage rather than at the disclosure deadline.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What qualifies someone as an expert?
Can a treating physician give expert opinions?
