Of all of the witnesses your Seattle personal injury lawyer will call at trial, one of the most important may be the psychological expert. Frequently, in cases involving abuse of a child, the psychological injuries are far more serious than the physical ones. A qualified psychological expert will be able to offer testimony regarding the causation of the child’s injuries and the damages arising from them.
Prior to trial of your case, your Seattle personal injury lawyer will provide your psychological expert with information relating to the circumstances leading to the child’s injuries, the child’s course of treatment, the child’s current status, and any other facts relevant to the formation of the expert’s opinion. After reviewing the case, the psychological expert may prepare a report based on his or her findings and present it at trial.
Once your Seattle personal injury lawyer has called your psychological expert to the stand, he or she will ask the expert questions intended to show that the child exhibited behavior typical of one subject to abuse and atypical of a normally developing child. Additionally, your attorney will elicit testimony from the expert regarding the child’s expected need for future treatment and medical care.
In addition to a retained psychological expert, your Seattle personal injury lawyer may call as a witness any other mental health professional who treated the child. That person may be able to offer key testimony regarding the child’s course of treatment and prognosis.
If your psychological expert is credible, and your Seattle personal injury lawyer does an effective job of questioning him or her, you will be positioned to obtain a positive result at your trial. For a free consultation with a Seattle personal injury lawyer, please contact the Law Firm of Travis Eller.