The assessment of pain and suffering damages is different for each claim because the circumstances of each injury victim from before the accident will vary, and injuries impact everyone differently.
Physical Injuries
Physical injuries often take away from a person’s ability to do or enjoy what they did before the accident. People may not be able to continue to work in their career or they may have trouble engaging in activities with their children or have difficulty participating in hobbies and doing things they are passionate about, etc. Some injury victims lose their abilities completely, but most people end up pushing through pain to do the things they need to do and used to love to do, usually with much less frequency than before. These impacts fall under the umbrella of “pain and suffering.”
It is common knowledge that expert witness fees can be one of the highest costs in litigation, if not the highest. Especially if a referral service invoices for the expert assisting on the case. Therefore, an attorney will try to mitigate these costs by:
Finding an expert on their own, and using that expert on multiple cases
Asking around, via email blast or word of mouth, to see if anyone has an expert in the required specialty
Using a local doctor to screen their case, and trying to find an expert that agrees with this opinion
In addition to the risks and costs of the above there are many expert horror stories, that involve:
Not disclosing a disciplinary action
Not actively performing the procedure or care in question
Yes, knowing that you need an appropriately qualified expert is the first step in properly investigating the merits of your case, and connecting with the right expert is an investment that pays off starting with record review, all the way through to trial. Let Saponaro, Inc. assist you from the beginning, so you avoid these common mistakes.
Opioid addiction has reached crisis level in our country. Every day more than 115 Americans overdose on opioids – anything from prescription painkillers, to heroin and synthetic fentanyl. As the number suggests, this opens the door to thousands of court cases related to opioid addiction across the country each year.
It is surprising how many civil cases involve sports. From unsafe sports facilities and gear, to devastating sports injuries, to medical malpractice for concussion diagnosis and treatment – all of these can commonly involve the use of a sport expert witness to provide clarification and expert testimony.
The rate of malpractice incidence is increasing for Physicians Assistants (PA’s) and Nurse Practitioners (NP’s). This has been attributed to the major increase in number of PA and APN providers between 1991 and 2007.
More cases are being filed and higher judgments are being awarded in malpractice cases utilizing nurse practitioner and physician assistant expert witnesses. Statistics from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) show that judgments and/or settlements increased between 2004 and 2008.
Medication errors are one of the leading causes of death and injury in hospitals today. They arise in several situations. Here are the most common forms of error:
In the wake of Prince’s death, authorities issued a search warrant for his medical records and court documents identify a doctor who was treating him for an undisclosed illness before his death.
His death brings the conversation of prescription drug abuse and overdose again to the forefront of this national epidemic. (more…)
