By: James P. Krupka, Esq.

In general, witnesses called to testify in a civil jury trial are limited in their testimony to factual testimony; that is, they can only testify as to facts known to them. Fact witnesses generally cannot testify as to their opinions.  For example, a witness to an automobile accident can testify as to what he witnessed, but he cannot offer an opinion as to who was at fault for the accident.  An exception to this general rule applies to “experts” called to testify by the parties.  So long as the expert who is called to testify has some special knowledge, education, skill, experience or training with regard to the subject matter at issue, our courts will allow such a witness to offer opinion testimony.  So, although a fact witness cannot offer an opinion as to who is responsible for an automobile accident, an expert witness that is qualified to do so can offer an opinion as to who was responsible for an automobile accident after that expert has reviewed the available evidence.

A jury is not, however, required to simply accept the testimony/opinion of an expert witness.  In the end, it is for a jury to decide whether the facts support the expert’s opinion.  In deciding whether an expert’s opinion should be accepted, a jury can consider the expert’s reason for testifying, the expert’s credibility, and the qualifications of the expert.  Moreover, the jury must decide whether the facts relied upon by the expert are actually facts.  A jury can accept all or part of an expert’s testimony.

Expert testimony is often the most important part of an automobile or other personal injury claim.  In these types of cases, the jury must weigh the testimony of the plaintiff’s treating physicians versus the testimony of the defendant’s examining physicians.  It is usually the case that the plaintiff’s experts will offer opinion testimony that the injuries claimed by the plaintiff are related to the accident and permanent in nature.  The defendant’s experts will offer opinion testimony that the injuries claimed are not related to the accident and/or not permanent in nature.  A jury must render the ultimate decision as to these issues based upon which expert they believe is more credible.  Because of this, a personal injury claimant must carefully choose his/her treating physician based upon the physician’s experience, education and training, as the ability to recover money for the claimant’s pain and suffering and economic loss may rise or fall based upon the eventual court room testimony of the treating physician.