Expert Witness Blog
In Using Vocational Rehab Experts and Life-Care Planners to Prove General Damages, author Geoffrey S. Wells discusses the use of vocational rehabilitation and life-care planning experts. He begins by telling us that the use of a vocational rehabilitation expert and a life care planning expert witness is even more important today than it has been in the past.
This is due in part to the jury’s overall skepticisim on general damage awards. It is not uncommon today to hear a juror during jury selection say something to the effect that “I have no problem awarding damages that are actually provable, such as lost wages or medical costs in the past and the future, but I have a real problem with pain and suffering damages.” The plainfiff lawyer’s ability therefore to provide actual economic numbers for the jurors is more important today than it has ever been in the past.
More to follow from The Advocate, November 2007.