ABSTRACT
Expert .......................................................................................................... 143 7.2.1 Court-Appointed Forensic Experts .................................................. 143 7.2.2 Compensation for the Forensic Expert ............................................ 144 7.2.3 Research on Forensic Experts .......................................................... 145 7.2.4 Qualities of the Effective Expert ..................................................... 146 7.2.5 The Neuropsychologist as Expert Witness ...................................... 147
7.3 Practical Issues for the Expert Witness in TBI Cases................................. 150 7.3.1 The Initial Forensic Case Consultation: Duties,
Responsibilities, and Being Paid as an Expert Witness ................... 150 7.3.2 The Forensic Expert as Witness and the Ad Hominem Attack ........ 151 7.3.3 Advice for the Expert Witness in Forensic Litigation and
Consulting Cases .............................................................................. 151 7.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 154 References .............................................................................................................. 155 Suggested Readings ............................................................................................... 156
Due to advances in research, science, and medicine over the past 75 years, courts, fact finders, and triers of fact have looked for standards of acceptability. In the scientific and medical community, a standard is usually agreed upon by practicing professionals, researchers, and academics from which evidence can be compared
or examined. For example, a specific procedure, technique, and method (or lack thereof) used to perform some operation can be agreed upon as a standard method of operation in examining a patient. Any unusual deviation of such a method can be questioned, particularly if harm or negligence to a patient becomes the legal question to be argued.
