Proper use of experts is essential in many cases. Locks Law Firm (LLF) partners Jonathan Miller and Michael Galpern wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ) addressing two timely expert issues raised in Torres v. Pabon, in which the plaintiff’s car crashed into the rear of the defendant’s gray trash truck at 4:30 in the morning.
The first issue addressed why the plaintiff could not have seen the trash truck in time to avoid the crash. The plaintiff’s expert gave opinions as to why this was, in fact, the case. The defense challenged the expert’s testimony as a “net opinion,” meaning it did not have sufficient basis in the facts. LLF argued that indeed the expert did have a sufficient basis: he relied on testimony by the witnesses as to their speed and the condition of lights on the truck. He explained why normal tests, such as the energy crush test, could not be used to estimate the speed.