Jury instructions regarding expert witnesses in South Carolina are outlined in Anderson’s South Carolina Requests to Charge, Civil § 1-6. ANDERSON’S S.C. REQUESTS TO CHARGE, CIVIL § 1-6 (2016). This rule instructs the jury on the differences between expert testimony and other witness testimony, mainly that given the expert’s expertise and experience it is allowed to testify to its opinions on the case. Id. However, the jury should consider the expert’s testimony in light of all of the testimony presented in the case and evaluate how much weight and credibility to give it based on all evidence presented. Id. In addition to considering all evidence, the jury should also consider the expert’s “qualifications and credibility of the expert and the reasons given for his opinion.” Id. Furthermore, if experts opine on an area unfamiliar to the jury, the jury is to evaluate the quality of that information in determining whether to take the expert’s word and whether the expert should be afforded credibility or not. Id.
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