AWARDS: $2,350,000 award to automobile accident wrongful death plaintiffs • jury acquittal – double criminal homicide • $1,000,000 award to motorcycle accident wrongful death plaintiffs • jury acquittal – criminal homicide • $465,000 award to medical malpractice plaintiff • jury acquittal – criminal homicide, recklessly endangering another person, neglect of a care dependent person • $325,000 federal jury verdict, UIM and insurance bad faith award to automobile accident plaintiffs • jury acquittal – attempted criminal homicide • $300,000 award to medical malpractice plaintiff • jury acquittal- attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon • $300,000 award to automobile accident/ products liability plaintiffs • jury acquittal – homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle DUI, aggravate assault by vehicle • $115,000 award to truck accident plaintiff • jury acquittal – murder, rape • $100,000 non-jury trial verdict to facial laceration plaintiff • jury acquittal – 1st degree Murder (capital case) • $90,000 award to premises liability/slip-and-fall plaintiff • jury acquittal – DUI, terroristic threats, carrying firearms without a license • $440,000 award to civil rights violation plaintiff • jury acquittal – theft, receiving stolen property • $135,000 award to civil rights violation plaintiff • jury acquittal – possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance (PWI) • $636,000 jury verdict in plaintiffs’ medical malpractice case • jury acquittal – indecent assault, indecent exposure • $550,000 award in plaintiffs’ personal injury case • juvenile case acquittal- solicitation to commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault of unborn child • $250,000 award to mass transit accident plaintiff • jury acquittal – theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy • $130,000 award to premises liability/slip-and-fall plaintiffs • court-appointed appellate counsel – Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversal of rape conviction • $465,000 award to automobile accident plaintiff • jury acquittal – aggravated assault • $125,000 award to automobile accident plaintiff • jury acquittal – DUI • non-jury acquittal – dismissal of armed robbery charges • $170,000 award to automobile accident plaintiffs • successful jury verdict in defense of attorney charged with legal malpractice in professional liability case • $140,000 award to injured bicyclist plaintiff • non-jury acquittal – dismissal of 2 counts of criminal homicide • $180,000 award to employment discrimination plaintiff • jury acquittal – indecent exposure • non-jury custody trial – award of primary physical and legal custody of minor to paternal grandparents over natural mother • juvenile decertification petition granted to criminal homicide charges – release at age 21 • non-jury custody trial – award of primary physical and legal custody of minor to father • jury acquittal – DUI • $90,000 award to automobile accident plaintiffs • non-jury custody trial – award of primary physical and legal custody of minor to mother • $50,000 jury verdict for plaintiff- passenger in automobile accident case • non-jury custody trial – award of primary physical and legal custody of minor to father • hung jury – Arson trial (no criminal punishment imposed) • $265,000 award to premises liability plaintiff • jury acquittal – delivery of a controlled substance • $125,000 award to premises liability plaintiff • jury acquittal – DUI • $190,000 award to products liability plaintiff • $150,000 award to premises liability/construction accident plaintiff • $750,000 award to prison medical malpractice and civil rights violation plaintiff • $90,000 award to automobile accident plaintiffs • $108,500 award to automobile accident plaintiff • $80,000 award to automobile accident plaintiff • $150,000 award to truck accident plaintiffs.
Charles Law is Endorsed by the Better Business Bureau
Charles Law is Rated AV Preeminent

610-437-7064

The Role of Expert Witnesses To Prove Liability in Personal Injury Cases

If you watch enough courtroom dramas on TV, you might not appreciate the importance of the role expert witnesses play in personal injury cases. Eyewitness can only testify about what they observed through the use of the five senses, but an expert can offer an opinion based upon the expert’s superior proficiency in a particular field.

The role of the expert witness
The average witness does not have the training, knowledge or experience to offer an opinion. For example, a witness could testify about seeing a collision between two vehicles, but the witness would not be allowed to offer an opinion of the speed at which one of them was traveling. An accident reconstruction expert, on the other hand, has the training and expertise to estimate the speed a vehicle was traveling based upon measurements and other data from the accident scene.

Establishing the expertise of a witness
Before an expert is allowed to testify and offer an opinion, the attorney calling the witness must establish that the person is truly an expert. This is accomplished with evidence qualifying the person as such based upon the following:

  • Education
  • Training
  • Experience
  • Skill

The usual method attorneys use to qualify a witness as an expert is through questions posed to the person supported by copies of scholarly works they have written or degrees and certifications they possess. Once qualified as an expert in a particular field, the witness can offer an opinion that is relevant and assists the judge or jurors in a particular case.

A personal injury attorney can help

Knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorneys understand how to effectively use expert witnesses to achieve outstanding results for their clients. The attorneys at Charles Law Offices in Allentown have a proven record of success in personal injury and other areas of the law.