Expert Witness Costs in Personal Injury Cases
An expert budget should explain the question to be answered before it lists a price. Not every claim requires the same disciplines or work stages. Ask for a scoped estimate and a process for authorizing changes, then compare the eventual invoice with the work approved.
Hurt Advice editorial guide. Source review: . This guide does not state that the attorney authored, reviewed or approved it. Visit the profile for public licensing and background records.
Review the attorney’s public background, then confirm experience and availability directly.
Raffi Naljian
Founder, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Attorney
Raffi Garabed Naljian is the founder of Naljian Law Offices and an active California attorney under State Bar #238919. A Los Angeles Times profile says he founded the firm in 2008 after beginning his legal career in 1997, and the State Bar lists personal injury, litigation, criminal law, and business law among his self-reported practice areas.
View Raffi Naljian's full verified profilePrimary identity record
Learn more about Raffi Naljian
This is a focused supporting page. Use Raffi Naljian's full sourced attorney profile as the primary identity record for biography, role, languages, office information, and public-record links. Review that profile alongside the issue-specific preparation and public sources below.
The State Bar record lists Raffi Garabed Naljian as an active California attorney, State Bar #238919. Hurt Advice is a separate referral and legal information service, not the attorney's law firm.
How to Evaluate Attorney Fit for This Issue
Ask counsel to explain why this purchase is proposed in this case. A cost estimate does not establish necessity, admissibility or whether another party can be required to pay it.
Consultation worksheet
Expert-work budget
Compare the same scope across quotes. Record an unanswered item rather than assuming it is included.
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What disputed issue requires an expert, and why is this professional’s discipline relevant?
Separate record review, analysis, report, deposition and trial attendance in the proposed scope.
Record time estimates, rates, minimums, travel, cancellation and rush terms, if quoted.
Who approves additional work and receives updates before the estimate is exceeded?
Does the invoice identify the work performed and its relationship to the approved scope?
Sources for this guide
- State Bar of California: Fees and billing
Explains fee arrangements and the separate expense questions a client should resolve before signing an agreement with a lawyer.
- California Business and Professions Code section 6147
Contingency agreement requirements, including written terms, the agreed rate, cost treatment, related work and the applicable negotiability statement.
- Judicial Council of California: Civil fee schedules
Official current and archived statewide schedules. Match the effective date, case category and filing item, then check the receiving court.
Check the Cost Decision
- 1Describe the purpose and requested scope of this purchase.
- 2Obtain an itemized quote with its assumptions and optional services.
- 3Confirm approval, payment and change-notice arrangements.
- 4Check the resulting invoice and use the agreement to resolve repayment responsibility.
Records for the Cost Review
- Proposed work description
- Itemized quote and supplier terms
- Written approval and changes
- Invoice and expense-ledger entry
Keep your unanswered questions handy when comparing the attorney’s public profile with your needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating a price estimate as a legal requirement to incur the expense
- Comparing quotes with different included services
- Confusing payment to a supplier with the lawyer’s fee
Use the attorney’s public background as a starting point for a direct conversation about fit.
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Important Disclosures
Attorney Advertising. Hurt Advice is a lawyer-referral and legal-information service, not a law firm. This website provides general information, not legal advice. Viewing a page or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Independent participating attorneys decide whether to accept a matter, and representation begins only under a separate written agreement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; results depend on the facts and circumstances of each matter.