Choose the right expert in a personal injury accident: Haté
By Paul Russell, AdvocateDaily.com Contributor
People injured in an accident must quickly retain legal counsel to guide them through the proper steps and ensure they receive the compensation they are entitled to, says Toronto personal injury lawyer Rohan Haté.
“Soon after an injury occurs, go to a lawyer who has trial experience in this area of litigation and a team of experts in place, so you are able to get the results you need,” says Haté, a partner with McPhadden Samac Tuovi Haté LLP.
Having the right expert testifying on your behalf is important when advocating your case before a judge or a jury, he tells AdvocateDaily.com, giving the example of an Alberta Court of Appeal case where the testimony of experts was rejected by the judge.
According to court documents, a woman claimed to have developed an ongoing chronic pain syndrome as a result of an auto accident. The other driver admitted liability for the collision and a trial was held to determine whether the woman developed the syndrome as a result of the accident and, if so, what the compensation should be.
At trial, the woman had a handful of medical experts testify about her chronic pain syndrome and somatic symptom disorder, and she provided reports from others, as she claimed damages in excess of $1 million, the judgment reads. The trial judge, however, found that the woman was not a credible witness and that her self-reports on her injuries were inconsistent with the various medical providers’ notes and records.
“Given the importance of the appellant’s credibility to the strength of her experts’ overall opinions, the trial judge placed little weight on the appellant’s expert reports preferring, instead, the respondent’s expert evidence which refused to draw a causal connection between the motor vehicle accident and the appellant’s current chronic pain,” the judgment reads.
“The trial judge’s preference for the evidence of the respondent’s experts over the appellant’s is reasonable and well supported by the record,” the appeals court ruled, in upholding the trial judge’s refusal to accept that her chronic pain was caused by the accident.
Article Coutesy:- https://www.advocatedaily.com/rohan-hate-choose-the-right-expert-in-a-personal-injury-accident-hate.html