When I am your injury lawyer, I may use personal injury experts to win the compensation you should receive for your claim. I use scientific, medical, and other personal injury experts who are qualified to testify at trial. Each member of my team of personal injury experts has been qualified by the Alberta Court of King’s Bench to testify in their respective capacities.
Why do I use personal injury experts? The answer is straightforward. My team of personal injury experts helps me prove damages so that you obtain the maximum fair compensation from the insurance company. I take great pride in standing up for the little guy and making insurance companies pay my clients the compensation they deserve.
Before you hire an injury lawyer, consider these questions. After each question, I provide Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law’s answer.
Once aware of the facts of your case, we will clearly explain a strategy to win your case and obtain maximum compensation for your injuries. We will also explain what personal injury experts are required to prove your case, why they are needed, and how they fit into the strategy for winning your case.
Yes. By preparing your case for trial, Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law will help you receive the maximum fair compensation you deserve for your injuries. Ironically, preparing your case for trail is also the best way to settle your injury case without going to trial. Why are most claims settled? We know the insurance companies and the insurance companies know how Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law prepares injury cases. Your insurance company will understand that we are ready to go to trial. It will know that offering low-ball compensation is too big a risk to take. Going to trial risks even greater costs for your insurance company than paying the fair compensation you deserve.
Yes, Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law has a trusted team of personal injury experts to prove the at-fault party’s negligence and the damages arising from your injuries. Each personal injury expert will investigate in their area of expertise and then prepare a report on their findings. The reports become important building blocks in our strategy for winning your case. Ultimately, the amount of compensation the insurance company pays may be directly related to the proofs provided in those reports.
Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law uses the personal injury experts required to prove:
Every case is different and may require different personal injury experts. For example, a spinal cord injury claim may mean using accident investigators, medical experts, biomechanical engineers, economists, life care planners, and other personal injury experts to prove damages. An orthopedic injury claim may mean using accident investigators, accident reconstruction engineers, physiatrists, orthopedic specialists, vocational specialists, economic loss experts, and more.
Medical experts are generally not treating physicians. The medical experts review all prior and relevant medical history documents in your case. So, for example, an orthopedic surgeon will provide expert opinions and recommendations but not treat you. The exception to this rule may be a TMJ specialist who may provide you with a splint and have you attend for regular splint adjustments.
Remember your case is unique, and the personal injury experts we use will depend on the facts of your case.
Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law’s hiring of specific personal injury experts depends on the case. The opinion of one expert may rely on the opinion of the previous expert who may rely on the opinion of an earlier expert.
To use a hypothetical instance, an orthopedic specialist may provide a permanent impairment rating and describe the client’s specific injuries, diagnoses, and recommendations. Using this information, a functional capacity expert (occupational therapist) can provide a “Cost of Future Care”. In turn, the “Occupational Therapist Report” may be used by a vocational expert to determine what types of careers may be suited to the client in light of their functional capabilities and restrictions as outlined in the occupational therapist’s report. An economist can then calculate loss of future income.
Think of it like building a house. You don’t get all of the trades people on the lot at the same time.
Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law’s personal injury experts prepare their expert opinions and reports for use at trial. A personal injury expert is not an advocate for either party (the plaintiff or the defendant). The expert is providing guidance to the Court to help it render a decision about your injuries, pain and suffering, cost of future care, income loss, seat belt usage, liability issues etc. In practice, the insurance company and the injury lawyer will each retain personal injury experts to determine liability and damages.
Personal injury litigation is often a battle of experts. For every expert the plaintiff retains, the defence can retain a like expert. The typical order for retaining experts in a personal injury claim is that plaintiff retains all of their expert reports first and then serves them on the defence. The defence then schedules their equivalent expert medical assessments and obtains other expert reports. The plaintiff may retain sur-rebuttal reports to the defense expert reports. Your case may then be ready to schedule for trial. A settlement providing fair compensation to the injury victim may be awarded at any time during this process.
Here is a hypothetical fact pattern to build an injury case for my Client X. The fact pattern is not drawn from a client file. Client X is a 20-year-old male passenger in a motor vehicle. After stopping at a stop sign, the driver of that vehicle exits a secondary road on to a main highway. An oncoming driver traveling 150 kms per hour in a 70 km zone hits Client X’s vehicle. The oncoming driver was negligent, but he may not be honest with his insurer about his speed. My Client X sustains orthopedic injuries and a severe traumatic brain injury. These injuries affect his speech, mood, behaviour, and mobility. Client X requires constant ongoing supervision and care. I use the following personal injury experts to help prove Client X’s case.
To prove the at-fault party’s negligence, I retain an Accident Reconstruction Engineer to:
Proving the speed of the at-fault driver allows Client X to collect compensation from a second insurance policy. Proving Client X was wearing his seat belt refutes any argument that he may be contributorily negligent, which would decrease the compensation Client X is entitled to under Alberta’s Contributory Negligence Act.
I retain the following personal injury experts to prove Client X’s damages:
Proving each of these heads of damages maximizes Client X’s claim and dramatically increases the potential compensation the insurance companies will offer.
All of these personal injury experts can be called to give evidence for my client at trial. The insurance company, recognizing that going to trail will add to its costs, increases the compensation it originally offered. In consultation with Client X, we agree to reject the new offer, which does not meet the need for ongoing care. The insurance company eventually relents and agrees to provide the fair compensation Client X needs and deserves.
You want to receive maximum fair compensation for your injury. Make sure your injury lawyer has the strategy, team of personal injury experts, and financial resources required to build a winning case at trial. By demonstrating to the insurance company that you’re ready for trial, your injury lawyer will help you obtain the compensation you deserve for your claim. I hope you found the information in this article useful.
Joseph A. Nagy Injury Law represents people who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents in Alberta. We handle all types of motor vehicle accidents and personal injury claims.
If we can be of assistance, call (780) 760-4878 (HURT) or contact me, Joseph A. Nagy to book your free consultation. I will personally recommend a winning strategy to help you obtain the maximum possible compensation for your injury.
