Almost every case that comes up for jury trial has multiple aspects such as the evidence, expert testimony, and the legal arguments. In many of these cases, the expert witness is a medical practitioner. Such expert witnesses are called to testify in medical malpractice cases, accident and injury cases, and so on. When presenting the testimony of the medical expert, the attorney will begin by establishing their credentials – either introducing them or asking them about their medical school, residency experience, their years of experience, the papers they have published, their specialty, and so on. As a petitioner or defendant you need to know why the credentials of the medical expert are important.
Jury Trial
At the end of a jury trial, the judge will tell the jury to weigh all the evidence and give them different importance depending on who they feel is more right. This includes testimony presented by expert witnesses. This is because that is the function of the jury – they have to decide who is more right in a case.
Medical Expert Credentials
This makes it important that you or your attorney convince the jury that the testimony of the medical expert is right. If the jury is convinced that the evidence provided by the medical expert has helped them better understand the issues at stake, they are more likely to vote on your side. For this they need to be convinced that that medical testimony was provided by an expert in the field.
Establishing Credentials
To establish the credentials of the medical expert, the attorney will describe the professional in glowing terms – pointing out that they did well in medical school, completed their residency from a famous teaching hospital, have published many research papers in the field or conducted many surgeries, and so on. Naturally, the jury is more likely to believe a medical expert who has many years of experience rather than one who has just completed their residency.
Choosing Medical Experts
This also means that in many cases, your attorney should spend time selecting a medical professional with an impressive record to testify on your behalf. This is especially so when it comes to medical malpractice cases or accident compensation cases. If the individual selected has impressive credentials and is able to testify that the medical procedures followed were not correct or negligent then the jury is more likely to believe your case and award the compensation you seek. There are many aspects to winning a jury case in New York One of them is in the careful preparation of all aspects of the case including the selection of expert medical witnesses for providing the testimony. A lawyer who is willing to work on this aspect of the case apart from preparing the legal arguments is likely to be in a better position to convince the jury that you are right. This is especially so in cases of medical malpractice where the jury might not have a clear idea of the best medical practices.
