Expert Witnesses Aren't Always Experts

States across the nation are in the midst of legislative sessions, and thankfully, this year, legal reform is more of a hot topic. Richie Heath, Executive Director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and friend of Project Lawsuit Abuse, recently made some news about West Virginia’s court system, which is in desperate need of legislative attention this session.

Heath says that West Virginia’s” standards for the admissibility of testimony from expert witnesses” is an issue desperately in need of attention:

While the state’s ongoing legal reform debate frequently focuses on issues such as the creation of an intermediate appeals court, additional venue reforms or the more controversial medical monitoring lawsuits, reliability in expert testimony is just as important to rehabilitating the reputation of West Virginia’s court system. 

Expert witnesses have become commonplace for even the simplest of lawsuits. The verdict in a car wreck case can often come down to expert analysis of how the accident happened or of the plaintiff’s alleged injuries. And while expert testimony can play a critical role in educating jurors, it is equally important to keep “junk science” out of West Virginia’s courtrooms.

Heath mentions Senate Bill 578, which is sponsored by Republican senators Mike Hall and Clark Barnes. The bill would set standards that would ensure that “any expert testimony is based upon sufficient facts as well as reliable scientific principles and methods.” Experts would only be allowed to testify as to their specific area of expertise. Go figure. It’s about time something like this came around.  Let’s hope legislators make this bill a priority this session.