Question: Can nurses give expert opinions on the cause of injuries?
Answer: Some can, some can’t and opinions are limited.
See below. For a witness to qualify as an expert, the subject matter of the witness’s testimony must be distinctly related to some scientific field, business, or profession beyond the knowledge of the average person, and the witness must have sufficient skill, knowledge, or experience in that area so that the opinion will aid the jury. There is a significant difference in the education, training, and authority to diagnose and treat between physicians and nurses, so usually nurses are normally not qualified to offer expert testimony as to the medical cause of injuries. However, there is no blanket rule preventing nurses as acting as experts. Instead, the question is whether the proposed expert has sufficient knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education and if they have specialized knowledge that would help the jury understand the evidence or determine a fact in issue. Since nurse practitioners are highly trained and educated professionals in a highly regulated field, Indiana courts hold they may not testify that injuries were proximately caused by an accident, but may opine that the injuries were consistent with injuries from an accident. Although this is a fine line, it is up to the attorneys to persuade the jury that the injuries that sustained by the plaintiff are consistent with an accident were actually caused by the accident.
