What is an Expert Witness?

• Expert witnesses can strengthen a case by providing credible testimony.
• A qualified expert understands the importance of agreeing to only work on cases where they have the proper expertise.
• An expert witness has the responsibility of educating the jury by explaining complex topics in easily understood terms to help jurors better understand the facts.

Challenges

A case can be undermined by weak expert witness testimony, such as:

• Communication problems, like providing more information than is necessary to answer a question or using complex technical terms not easily understood by non-experts.
• Credibility problems, like shaping their opinion based on the lawyer’s case theory, being unprepared, or answering questions beyond their field of expertise.
• Conflict problems, by taking on a case where the expert does not agree with the lawyer’s side of events.

Benefits

A qualified expert witness:

• Will have the knowledge, skill, experience, training, and education and uses reliable facts, data and methodology:
• To form and express an expert opinion,
• To help counsel understand the evidence, and
• To help counsel deal with opposing expert witnesses.
• Will be comfortable disagreeing with the lawyer that hired then when appropriate so it does not appear that they are there to just satisfy the lawyer.
• Will be versed in how to testify during challenging questioning by using techniques that provide the opportunity and time to consider a question and provide an intelligent answer.

Best Practices

A qualified expert witness

• Will be prepared in the process of testifying and how to meet the expectations of jurors.
• Will ensure the hiring lawyer understands how the expert reached their conclusions, the methodology used and opposing theories.
• Will practice with the hiring lawyer to improve their planned testimony by using mock trials, practice depositions and question and answer sessions that highlight their opinion.
• Will have the ability to put together visual aids or other graphics that help inform the jury.
• Will understand the focus on both body language and verbal communication and how those behaviors can influence a jury.

How Can OSC Help?

Ralph V Collipi Jr. possesses important credentials including:

• Certification in the comprehensive practice of in the industrial hygiene (CIH)
• Certification as a Certified Hazardous Material Manager (CHMM)
• Certification as a Certified Environmental, Health and Safety Auditor (CPEA)
• More than 40 years of experience as an occupational health professional
• More than 10 years of Expert Witness work.
• Serving as the designated company witness for AT&T and its subsidiaries in asbestos litigation since 2009.
• Serving as an industrial hygiene expert witness by both plaintiff and defendant counsel in a variety of workplace injury and personal injury cases.
• Writing expert reports based on documentary evidence, site visits and personal interviews.
• Completing depositions in more than 15 cases since 2009.

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