Qualifications For Becoming An Expert Witness Mechanical Engineering

By Jerry Powell


If you are a professional in a field that falls outside the justice sphere, you may be tempted to think that courts do not offer engineers a rewarding career path. The truth is that courts also offer income generating opportunities to those who are not officers of the law. If you have established a long standing career as an engineer, your expertise may still come in handy as an expert witness mechanical engineering.

In essence, there are several legal requirements that you should meet if you want to participate as an expert witness at a court hearing. One requirement that is always verified is knowledge on the subject matter. Being an engineer, you should have a deep understanding of mechanics. To verify this, prosecutors will look at the number of journals and publications you have made. If your work seems to influence decisions made by stakeholders in your profession, you may be approached to offer your professional views when necessary.

Skill is also analyzed before witnesses are sought to appear before courts. As such, make sure your practical prowess in your line of work is up to par. This is essential for many reasons. When being cross examined for example, defense attorneys like to bog experts down with lots of technical questions. Most attorneys do so when they sense a lack of confidence in the people prosecutors bring forth as witnesses. If you are unaware of the answers to certain questions, you may begin stuttering, which can be both embarrassing and detrimental to the prosecution team.

When approaching professionals to testify, legal officers also look at the aspect of experience. This is because with experience, an expert is highly likely to predict the possible outcome of an occurrence in situations where machines are in use. Take the example of an automobile accident in Chicago, IL.

The case may involve a negligence claim by the victim. If the accident was to blame for a badly designed breaking system, the analysis you give could be vital in establishing culpability. The implications that come as a result can be far reaching. There are several real life cases of plaintiffs getting compensatory figures that run into millions.

Many court sessions these days involve varying lengths of illustrations. In essence, illustrations are usually made so as to visually demonstrate what happened. Therefore, being a good trainer and presenter is mandatory.

Think of it as a class in session. You are the teacher and the rest of the audience members are your students. You have to use illustrations in some cases to put your point across. If demonstrating how an ignition system works for example, you should do so in a manner that guarantees complete understanding for the judge and the jurors.

The most important thing of all is to have the relevant academic qualifications. If you are yet to complete your high school education, make an effort to score impressive grades for easy acceptance by top universities. Once accepted, select a degree that will put you on the right career path for this role. Once you graduate, finding rewarding opportunities will be easy. Eventually, you will realize that hard work pays.




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