Expert Witness Services in New York

In today’s time and age, an expert witness is an individual with specialized knowledge, required skills, and education in a particular field. Such expert witnesses in New York or any other state are called upon in a court of law to serve as an objective party to the lawsuit.

They never function as an advocate for one side or another. Expert witness services in New York are primarily based on testifying in cases where there is a dispute over a specific detail. 

Subsequently, the law firms in New York work with such expert witnesses who provide their expertise in resolving unresolved cases. Their services provide stating an opinion as to matters of extreme vitality and stating reasons for their opinions. They are present in litigation to present the complicated scientific rulings to assist the case based on their experience. 

Who is an Expert Witness in New York?

In the states, not every individual qualifies to provide testimony in the court of law. New York state requires experts to have an adequate understanding of scientific, technical and complex issues. Moreover, experts appear in court for different kinds of cases. 

Pertaining to the type of testimony that is required by these experts, their primary task is to help resolve disputes. 

Their experience in the legal industry serving their expert witness services in New York helps them navigate the complexities of the case. Not only does an expert witness have to be testified, but their expert opinion should be appropriate. 

Qualifications of An Expert Witness

• In general, an expert may be qualified as an expert witness based on  knowledge, skill, experience, training or education. This is a minimal standard.
• The expert witness should be able to provide judicial discretion. For instance, whether a proposed expert witness has been sufficiently qualified is for the trial judge’s determination based on the witness’ testimony. There is no fixed standard; on the contrary, the trial court must be satisfied that the witness has sufficient expertise to assist the jury.
• Merely education or experience of an expert witness is not sufficient. An expert witness must be able to qualify based on both their experience  and area of education. Thus, a specialized expert witness plays a crucial role in fitting the requirements of the case. Such are the expert witness services provided in New York are based upon.
• Weaknesses in a witness’s qualifications go to the weight, not the admissibility, of the testimony.

Hiring The Right Experts

In New York, a heterogeneity in extremely dedicated expert witness services often makes it hard to determine whether an expert witness is the right fit for your case or not.

To understand this better in the legal context, people are often faced with opposing opinions of the competing expert witnesses. Anyone who may be better equipped or better qualified to form the basis of their opinion in the contested matter that we must take into consideration. 

The vitality of hiring the right and just expert witness services in New York marks an indelible mark to help you get assistance on your legal case.

An expert is required to have substantive knowledge of the subject matter during legal proceedings. Oftentimes, it may become a tedious task to hire the best-suited expert to present your case in a court of law. In short, we must consider undertaking the types and qualifications of these expert witness services in New York.

New York: A Hub for Expert Witness Services

In the state of New York, expert witness services are divided across various fields of specializations. The types of expert witness services in New York are:

1. Accident reconstruction & safety expert witness;
2. Agricultural & animal expert witness;
3. Appraisal & valuation expert witness;
4. Business, financial & marketing expert witness;
5. Computers & technology expert witness;
6. Document examination & handwriting expert witness;
7. Employment & vocational expert witness;
8. Engineering expert witness;
9. Environmental & science expert witness;
10. Family & education expert witness;
11. Forensic & laboratory testing expert witness
12. Hospital & medical services expert witness;
13. Hotel, food & restaurant expert witness;
14. Insurance expert witness;
15. Arbitrators & mediators;
16. Legal malpractice experts;
17. Medical expert witnesses (anesthesiology, cardiology, dentistry, medical toxicology, neurology, obstetrics, pain management et cetera);
18. Police & penal expert witness;
19. Psychologist & psychiatrist expert witness;
20. Real estate expert witness;
21. Security expert witness;
22. Transportation expert witness and et cetera.

What is an Expert Testimony?

Generally, an expert uses facts (inferred or actual) of the legal case to form the basis of their opinion. Such expert witness services in New York have a range of experts who possess specialized knowledge in a particular field. In legal proceedings, such as trials, expert testimony is essentially a statement or opinion provided by an expert.

Such an opinion must satisfy the standard put forth in the judicial screening of expert witness testimony under the Frye v. United States. There are various fields where an expert testimony might be required. For instance, engineering, medicine, forensic science, criminal justice, psychology, finance, et cetera.

The opponent has the right to cross-examine the expert on the issue of qualifications before the expert gives opinion testimony, and to object that the witness is not qualified. This is also called a “voir dire.”  

Disclosure of Expert Testimony

Under the involvement of parties in the personal injury lawsuit, they have to disclose the involvement of such experts. Such has been stated under the New York (N.Y. CPLR 3101) section for the scope of disclosure.

Each individual party must:

• Identify each individual expected to be called as an expert witness (except in the cases of medical malpractice);
• Disclosure of the subject matter that each expert will be testifying about;
• Provide  substantive detail on the facts and the expert opinion;
• Detail the qualifications of the expert witness;
• Give a summary of the reasoning for each of the opinions provided.

Analyzing the Admissibility of Expert Testimony

Delegating the responsibility to someone who has the specialization in a particular field of interest helps the basis of forming an expert opinion. It is a crucial task to analyze the admissibility of expert testimony before submitting the scientific and technical evidence during trial. 

Rules 702–706 govern the expert testimony. Analyzing the admissibility of expert testimony consists of asking four vital questions:

• Is there an applicable issue for fundamentally stated expert testimony?

This is primarily determined by parties involved, as hiring experts is quite expensive. Rule 702 says that the expert may testify whenever their expert opinion may assist the jury.

• Does the proposed expert have the qualifications to be an expert?

Rule 702 says that an expert must be “qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education.”

• Is the expert basing their opinions on adequate information?

Rule 702 requires the expert testimony to be “based on sufficient facts or data.”

• Is the expert’s opinion rational?

As cited in Rule 702 requires an expert’s testimony to be “based on reliable principles and methods… applied reliably to the facts of this case.”

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Is the Expert Witness Hourly Rate in New York?

The hourly rate of an expert witness in New York state is $450.

2. What Type of Cases Does an Expert Witness Typically Handle in New York?

Expert witnesses in New York can assist in a wide range of services including personal injury, legal malpractice, defamation, intellectual property, forensic disputes et cetera.

3. How Does an Expert Witness Contribute to Legal Cases?

Expert witnesses are typically requested to testify based on their specialized knowledge and professional judgement about a specific situation. Experience works as a key foundation in accomplishing expertise in this field.