One of the difficulties of effectively trying Maryland car and truck accident cases is illustrating the enduring pain and inconvenience of the injuries. Yes, this can be accomplished through the plaintiff's testimony and perhaps their spouse, partner or family member. But the technical information is often lost in incomprehensible layman's testimony.
The treating doctor can make observations but often the treating physician sees the patient at the beginning of treatment and at the end. Sometimes, there are interim visits but the truth is the bulk of actual "treatment" is at the hands of the physical therapist.
Even a routine case involves many times more actual in person encounters with the therapist instead of the doctor. So why not use the Dcotor of Physical Therapy as an expert? Yes it does increase the expert witness costs but nominally and the detailed information one can elcit is quite valuable.
A medical expert saying the patient had two dozen therapy visits at a cost of so many dollars, just doesn't provide the granular day to day description of the pain and limitations endured by the crash victim. Often the doctor expert is unable to interpret the P.T. written notes and will not have the intimate understanding of the events in the patient's life that were missed of altered by the crash injuries.
So next time a car or truck crash case goes into litigation, think about speakingto the therapist about their prospective testimony. The verdict will be higher.
