The following blog entry is written to illustrate a common motion filed during civil litigation. Reviewing this kind of filing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this brain injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)
LAW AND ARGUMENT cont.
EXPERT WITNESS QUALIFICATIONS ARE NOT BASED UPON RIGID CLASSIFICATIONS, BUT RATHER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
Mr. Goldberg’s 1,500-plus hours of specialized training include, without limitation, topics such as Injury Biomechanics & Occupant Kinematics, Biomechanics of Accidents, Biomechanics of Impact Trauma – Limits of Human Tolerance. (Exhibit 1, pp. 1-2) In fact, Mr. Goldberg’s specialized training in biomechanics and accident reconstruction has accumulated steadily since he received his undergraduate degree in 1986, and his experience includes is over twenty-seven years with the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department as a traffic accident investigator. (Exhibit 1.) Finally, Mr. Goldberg has testified in over 150 trials. (Exhibit 1, p. 8.) Under these circumstances, defendants’ assertions that Mr. Goldberg has no value as an expert witness due to his lack of formal education and/or his lack of experience with boimechanical issues fall flat.
Based on Mr. Goldberg’s special knowledge, skill, experience, and training accumulated over his lifetime of working and studying in these areas, he has the qualifications necessary to testify as an expert about liability, accident reconstruction and biomechanics.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
As explained by the court in Los Altos El Granada Investors, after the court determines Mr. Goldberg’s qualification as an expert and the admissibility of his testimony, the degree of his knowledge is left to affect the weight of his testimony. Therefore defendants’ attempt to limit Mr. Goldberg from testifying about biomechanical issues on the basis he does not have a degree in biomechanical engineering is not well taken. (See Part 5 of 6.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.