While some may think expert witnesses are paid to say what lawyers wants them to say, these experts tell the real story:
DNA expert witness Dr. Richard Saferstein says the legal system could not work without expert witnesses. “Expert witnesses such as myself are an important safeguard in the judicial system. If there’s a problem, we hopefully can find it. And we can discourage the government from going overboard,” says Saferstein, a defense expert in criminal cases for 15 years.
Dr. Joseph Willner, chief of neurology at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, says “What [an IME] should be is a person who has no ax to grind, no bias … who essentially gives a second opinion.”
Dr. Frank Tinari, a forensic economics expert witness, predicts what people would have earned the rest of their lives had they not been killed or injured. Tinari says most experts can’t get away with pandering to clients, “While there might be suspected bias on the part of each side’s experts, the adversarial process is a good way of getting to the truth and exposing any exaggerations or abuses.”
For more, see Expert at earning big paydays by John Petrick at NorthJersey.com