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99.9% of the time you must have an expert to go to trial. Expert witnesses cost a lot of money to hire in your Utah car accident injury claim. Make sure that the attorney you hire has the financial backing and success to hire the best experts when needed. Here is when you need an expert witness and common types of expert witnesses in Utah car accident cases.
When Do I Need an Expert Witness in My Utah Car Accident Claim?
TRIALS. FIRST, anytime you are going to a jury or bench trial you will need an expert witness to testify to what caused your injuries. If you have a filed lawsuit and you have not designated properly under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26 expert medical witnesses on causation your case will be dismissed. There is a small, small exception on blatantly obvious injuries, but it is rarely used.
The timing to designate experts under Utah law is 14 days after fact discovery closes. Yet, if you have not thought about, or started retaining expert witnesses at-least three months prior to the end of fact discovery you will not make your expert witness filing deadline.
PRELITIGATION LARGER CASES. SECOND, in larger car accident injury cases experts will be front loaded in anticipating of a lawsuit being filed, or to bolster the pre-lawsuit demand package. Normally prior to filing a lawsuit you make a written demand to the at-fault insurance company asking them to settle. Most of the time on smaller cases you rely exclusively on medical records. With larger, more damaging car accident injury cases you will sometimes have your expert evaluate the damages for the insurance company to better understand the value of the case. 
Non-Retained Experts and Retained Experts.
Utah Rules of Civil Procedure 26 details two types of expert witnesses. Retained Experts and Non-Retained Experts.
Retained Experts. Retained experts are paid experts and classically professional testifying experts who provided courtroom testimony for a living. Really, any expert you pay money to for expert opinions should be listed as retained experts. Sometimes retained experts will be the original treating medical provider, but later you hire them for an expert report. Making them an expert witness. When in doubt, this author lists them both as retained and non-retained experts.
Non-Retained Experts. Non-retained experts are classically your treating medical doctors. Sometimes a police officer who did an accident reconstruction at the scene would also be an expert, but not a retained expert. Classic non-retained experts are treating chiropractors, physical therapists and medical doctors.
Common Experts in Utah Car Accident Cases.
Here are the classic and common retained and non-retained expert witnesses in a Utah car accident case heading towards a jury or bench trial.
Chiropractic Physicians. Doctors of Chiropractic. Chiropractors are classically non-retained treating medical providers that can testify to causation of injury, diagnosis, prognosis (what the future holds) and the reasonable and necessity of the medical bills and treatment they rendered. Unless the chiropractor is specially trained, they can only render opinions within their practice scope of the muscular skeletal areas of the back. If specially trained they can diagnose head injuries, other injuries and easily interpret radiology and x-rays. Unless specially trained, they cannot testify to the reasonableness of other medical specialist’s billings, like physical therapist, ER billing or nurse practitioner billings. 
Doctor of Physical Therapy. PTs, DPTs are classic non-retained treating medical providers in Utah. They have radiology orders powers, but generally are not qualified to interpret radiology and give medical opinions unless specifically trained on the subject. PTs can testify to the reasonableness of their medical billing, diagnosis and causation of the injuries they treated.
Nurse Practitioner NP, APRN. Nurse practitioners in Utah are called Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. The practice scope of a nurse practitioner can prescribe and diagnose injuries and give prognosis. They can testify to the reasonableness of their billing and need for their medical care caused by the car accident. NPs, like DCs are often non-retained treating medical providers, but can also be a standalone retained expert witness.
Orthopedic Surgeon. Orthopedic surgeons can be Medical Doctors (“MD”) or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (“DO”). Orthopedic surgeons operate around muscular skeletal problems. Most orthopedic surgeons in Utah are treating doctors not interested in doing expert witness work until they are retired and can’t operate any more. These surgeons can testify to the need and causation of the surgery and the reasonableness of their medical billing.
Neurosurgeons. These doctors can be MDs or DOs and specialize in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of nervous system disorders. Like orthopedic surgeons these surgeons are generally non-retained treating physicians not interested in providing expert witness testimony.
Physician’s Assistants. “PAs” have diagnosis, prognosis, prescription and orders authority. Until recently, a Utah PA always worked under the direction of a MD or DO, but now can practice independently in Utah, just like NP can.
Accident Reconstructionist. Accident reconstructionists are generally former law enforcement officers specifically trained in accident reconstruction of motor vehicles. Accident reconstructionists are often mechanical or civil engineers specializing in forces and reconstruction. No accident reconstructionist can provide a medical diagnosis or causation of injury.
Economists. Economists can be a Masters or PhD level trained university expert who provides valuation testimony regarding economic damages. Classically economists tell the jury how much future medical costs will be and reduce future life care plans to present value.
Life Care Planner. Life care planners are often nurses or other medical professionals who have specialized knowledge in how much future medical need specific injuries will need. Quadriplegics may need an overhaul of their house, lowering all cabinets, islands and tables. A life care planner would project prescription medication costs over the life of the injured party. Assessment of durable medical device needs such as wheelchairs, ramps, home renovations and in-home care are all mapped out by a life care planner. Then economist then places a present value of the future costs of such medical care.
Vocational Rehabilitation Profession. This professional has specific industry and labor information on what people earn and what the skills sets are for occupations. When a surgeon loses a hand, a vocational rehab specialists would determine what his current income is and what other jobs the surgeon could do with his injury limitations. These experts capture the future impaired earnings over the lifetime of the injured party. The economist then provides current, present-day values of these future lost earnings to the jury.
How Many Experts Witnesses are Needed in Your Utah Car Accident Case?
The more serious the injury, the more serious the need for expert witnesses to capture and tell the damages story to the jury. Many expert witnesses are not needed at all, but they really help the jury understand the full, lifelong impact of the injuries to the person.
Many Utah car accident cases only have one medical causation doctor on the case. More serious injury cases will have future impaired capacity to earn mapped out for the jury with an economist.