Expert Witness Blog

Expert Suites has created a new concept in commercial office space and business services. This brand new facility is tailored to meet the unique needs of mediators, trial and jury consultants, Expert Witnesses and other legal industry providers such as court reporters, video deposition reporters, and attorneys who may be seeking specialized office space designed with the needs of legal industry.

Expert Suites offers:

• Services geared toward completing “busy-work” so clients can devote more time to building their business and practicing their craft
• An administrative staff that recognizes and honors the strict confidential nature of the legal industry
• Accommodations for mock trials, depositions, and focus groups
• Technology-oriented office spaces
• Personalized phone answering and messaging
• Extensive photocopying and imaging
• Secure storage for evidentiary materials
• Special evidence examination workspaces.
• Data storage and scanning
• UPS/FedEx shipping and receiving
• An environment conducive to brainstorming, camaraderie and mentoring

The newly renovated 13,000-square-foot facility is freeway-friendly and centrally located in northern Orange County. The facility includes a 7,500-square-foot, security-enhanced warehouse equipped with examination benches and storage lockers.

Expert Suites offers full and part-time office suites and virtual office accommodations.
It is a truly unique facility that gives the legal community the tools and the environment necessary to grow your business and to deliver exceptional business practices!

In addition to office space and special amenities, the facility has an audio/visual equipment center and resource library. For more information about Expert Suites,
go to www.expert-suites.com.

You are invited you to take a tour, by appointment only, by calling (877) 231-4343

Expert Communications provides expert witness training tools and creates marketing plans, materials, and websites for expert witnesses. You can sign up for their free email newsletter, Expert News, with tips, techniques, and information unique to the needs of expert consultants, by clicking here: Expert Communications Newsletter.

One of their most popular resources is the CD and transcript of a presentation by attorney Lee Gunn, "How to Be Picked, But Not Picked Apart," in which he explains:

- How attorneys pick experts

- What attorneys avoid when choosing experts

- How plaintiff and defense attorneys differ

- The worst thing an expert can do that will get you blacklisted

- What makes an expert stand out and get referrals (a simple thing most experts miss!)

You can also learn about the unique nature of marketing expert witness services from the founder of Expert Communications, Rosalie Hamilton, in her book, The Expert Witness Marketing Book

Business valuation expert witness Dr. Kamin bases his philosophy on the teaching of Professor Merton Miller of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, 1990 Nobel Prize in economics for his pioneering work in the economic theory of valuation and corporate finance. Dr. Kamin writes:

Professor Miller’s teaching has imbued the entire field of business valuation for both public and private companies. His teaching led to the phrase “free cash flow” to describe the source of the economic benefit to shareholders that is the basis for attribution of value to share ownership. Free cash flow is the cash withdrawable from a business after allowing for capital needed for reinvestment to support the firm’s growth opportunities.

Professor Miller’s premise is that the only economically rational basis for valuing a business enterprise is the aggregate current value of all future free cash flows distributable by the firm. Each future year’s cash flow has a present price per dollar that reflects the time-value of money and the compensation for risk bearing to the future date. The economically rational value of the business firm is then the price per dollar of each year’s future free cash flow multiplied by the number of dollars of future free cash flow summed up over all the future years in which free cash flow is expected to be generated.

Human factors, a specialty of psychology and industrial engineering, focuses on the efficiency, safety, and comfort of things that people interact with at work or leisure. Human factors expert witness Dr. Robert C. Sugarman writes:

Typical forensic applications of human factors expertise are answering questions about human abilities and limitations for attention, memory, motivation, perception, movement, and strength. These questions often come up in the context of auto accidents, slip and fall, warnings and labels inadequacy, and industrial accidents. An area that is rapidly gaining attention is medical accidents, especially caused by device design errors.

A question posed to me during an industrial accident trial early in my career made me think about what we can know about another person. I was asked, “Don’t people have an obligation to protect themselves from danger?” I answered that the question is more a matter of philosophy and not within the domain of human factors. If people always protected themselves as a matter of obligation, no one would take on a job that was not inherently safe. That would include almost every occupation we depend on for our well being.

On the other hand, we all have the obligation not to put others in danger by designing or using unsafe work situations, including tools, equipment, and environmental factors. We should also be expected to obey rules and instructions that are provided to keep us safe. Sometimes people rely on common sense to guide other people into doing the right thing, but common sense is not common.

For more go to http://www.rcspsi.com/

Expert witness R. Craig Jerner describes metallurgical failure analysis in automobile accidents. "When an automobile accident happens, the question frequently arises did the wheel, axle, steering, spring, bolts, frames, brackets, or screws fail causing the accident, or did the impact forces of the accident cause the failed/broken component to break. Metallurgical failure analysis and/or root cause analysis is often required to provide the answer."

Jerner describes a pickup rollover accident and his failure analysis expert witness findings:

The right rear wheel of a pickup was found nearby the vehicle after a rollover accident. The “mag wheel" failed in the spokes and welded spoke attachment feet. Two other “mag” wheels on the subject pickup were also observed to be fractured. Did the wheel loss cause the rollover or was the wheel loss a result of the rollover?

Inspection showed that welding design and welding defects present in the subject "mag wheel" were not the cause of this rollover accident. Examination of skid marks and the lack of roadway gouges precluded the accident being the result of wheel rim failure. Axle failure and wheel loss were the result of forces experienced during the rollover, rather than wheel loss causing the truck to rollover.

ConnectU founders accused Facebook (a social networking website originally developed for college students) Mark Zuckerberg and his original crew of pilfering their profitable idea in 2003 when they were all Harvard students. Facebook filed a countersuit, accusing ConnectU of unfair business practices. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Will it be in the millions? In the meantime, all motions in the case against ConnectU have been terminated.
Need an information technology expert witness for your case? Go to JurisPro.com.

Semiconductors expert witnesses can write reports and opine on the following information excerpted from Micron.com:

Memory chips have been called the crude oil of the twenty-first century. They are used in a wide variety of electronic applications from children's toys to sophisticated communication satellites. The current generation of memory chip (64 Mb) is capable of storing 3,355 pages of text on a piece of about the size of a dime.

A number of elements are classified as semiconductors including silicon, zinc, and germanium. These elements have the ability to conduct electrical current, and they can be regulated in the amount of their conductivity. Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor material because it is easily obtained.

Steven J. Milloy, founder and publisher of JunkScience.com, is also a columnist for FoxNews.com. Milloy has testified as a chemical expert witness on risk assessment and Superfund before the U.S. Congress.
He writes:

Food riots caused by rising food prices have erupted around the world. Five people died in riots in Haiti -- perhaps the first of many casualties yet to come from the current fad of being “green.” Food riots also broke out in Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Ethiopia. The military is being deployed in Pakistan and Thailand to protect fields and warehouses. Higher energy costs and policies promoting the use of biofuels like ethanol are being blamed.

“When millions of people are going hungry, it’s a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels,” an Indian government official told the Wall Street Journal. Turkey’s finance minister labeled the use of biofuels as “appalling,” according to paper.

Biofuels have turned out to be a lose-lose-lose proposition. Once touted by the Greens and the biofuel industry as being able to reduce the demand for oil and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, biofuels have accomplished neither goal and have no prospect of accomplishing either in the foreseeable future. The latest research shows, in fact, that biofuels actually increase greenhouse gas emissions on a total lifecycle basis.
Add in that taxpayer-subsidized diversion of food crops and food crop acreage to fuel production has contributed to higher food prices and reduced food supply, and biofuels turn out to be nothing less than a public policy disaster.

Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs’ has filed a lawsuit challenging the DOE's approval to begin experiments with deadly pathogens such as live anthrax, plague and Q fever in a portable Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facility that includes three internal labs... Operations at the Livermore BSL-3 will include genetic modification of bio-weapon agents, raising the possibility that novel, uniquely lethal pathogens will result. Aerosol expert witnesses will no doubt be called to opine on the facility's plan to conduct aerosol (spray) experiments. TriVallycares.com reports:

Genetically manipulating organisms and creating aerosols are two activities that have “dual use,” meaning they can be associated with offensive as well as defensive bio-warfare research. Tri-Valley CAREs and independent experts believe that conducting this research at a classified DOE lab whose mission is the development of nuclear weapons threatens the Biological Weapons Convention, the treaty banning bio-weapons to which the U.S. is a signatory.

Building codes expert witnesses will no doubt be called in the lawsuit which the city of Minneapolis and three north Minneapolis neighborhoods filed against TJ Waconia. Plaintiffs say Waconia's practices left many homeowners unable to sell their homes or owing significantly more for their homes than they are worth which worsened the foreclosure crisis in Minneapolis.
“The foreclosures and vacated dwellings resulting from TJ Waconia have caused damage to the City including increased costs for inspection of buildings for code violations, boarding vacant buildings, providing increased police and fire protection, acquiring and rehabilitating vacant buildings, and providing maintenance such as garbage removal and weed-cutting,” said north Minneapolis Council Member Don Samuels (Ward 5). “We deserve redress for these costs.”

Robotics uses intelligent machines and systems in space exploration, human services, and manufacturing. A robotics expert witness can opine on the design and implementation of intelligent machines which do work too dirty, too dangerous, too precise, or too tedious for humans. Intelligent machines have applications in medicine, defense, space and underwater exploration, service industries, disaster relief, manufacturing and assembly and entertainment.

Just for fun, see Monty Does the Dishes http://anybots.com/videos.html

A suicide expert witness can explain causes of murder-suicde to a jury. The motivation for the murder in murder-suicide can be purely criminal in nature or be perceived by the perpetrator as an act of care for loved ones in the context of severe depression. The severely depressed person may see the world as a terrible place and can feel that they are helping those they care about by removing them from it. Thoughts like this are generally regarded as a medical emergency requiring suicide intervention.

Since crime just prior to suicide is often perceived as being without consequences, it is not uncommon for suicide to be linked with homicide. Motivations may range from guilt to evading punishment, insanity, part of a suicide pact, or exacting revenge on those whom they feel are responsible.

Al Valdez, Professor at the University of California-Irvine and a retired law-enforcement officer, testified Friday as a gangs expert witness that the murder of Daniel Francis was a gang-related act and not a crime stemming from a road-rage incident. The expert witness described the murder of Daniel Francis as the result of a gang initiation. Valdez says that 50 percent of the people killed in gang violence are innocent bystanders, according to an FBI study and his own professional experiences of investigating gang crimes.

For more see: NWAnews.com

In Pre-Suit Investigation in 18-Wheeler Trucking Cases InjuryBoard.com suggests that in the event of a trucking accident:

Retain a Trucking Industry/Accident Reconstruction Expert: Important information can be lost forever in the investigation is not preformed accurately and immediately. This is the best step to lay the groundwork for a great case. A well qualified expert in the trucking industry can assist in gathering all the evidence necessary to guide the case. Experts know what documents are needed to find out the truth behind the wreck. A expert will examine the brakes, gearing and rear-end ratios, and load configuration of the big truck after the wreck to see if truck meets the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Often these trucks have electronic control modules (ECMs) that record data generated by the truck and its engine. Our firm is equipped with a team of experts who can immediately assist after a 18 wheeler accident.

Anesthesiology expert witness Dr. Mark Dershwitz's testified that Ohio's execution procedure is humane and includes enough anesthetic to knock out an average inmate for two hours. wcpo.com writes:

The doctors testified in a legal challenge brought by two men who could receive death sentences if convicted of separate murders in Lorain County. The defendants are challenging the constitutionality of the state's lethal injection process, saying it doesn't provide the quick and painless death required by Ohio law.

Lethal injections are on hold nationally while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a challenge in a case from Kentucky, which is among the roughly three dozen states that administer three drugs in succession to sedate, paralyze and kill prisoners.

Anthony Pellicano, former Hollywood private eye, called his one and only witness, an FBI computer expert witness in his defense against wiretapping and racketeering charges. HollywoodReporter.com also reports:

On the witness stand, Donald Schmidt testified that he was told to look for evidence of audio recordings on Mac computers confiscated by federal agents in a search of Pellicano's Sunset Boulevard office in November 2002.

"I recall hearing audio files," Schmidt said. "Did you or anybody determine these files were wiretaps?" Pellicano asked. It's not my job," Schmidt responded. "I was told to find audio files."
Pellicano is accused of being the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that included tapping phone lines and employing others to dig up often confidential information on adversaries of clients who hired the private eye...

Among the co-defendants is retired Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Arneson, who took the stand in his own defense following Pellicano's witness. Under questioning by Arneson's attorney Chad Hummel, the former sergeant admitted he "crossed the line" when he ran records searches for Pellicano on police computers over a seven year span.

Allegations of medical malpractice are common in anesthesiology because problems are common and the resulting outcome for the patient is often poor. In surgery, the anesthetic is often more dangerous to the patient than the knife. Medical indemnity premiums for anesthesiologists are usually higher than other specialties. Death can result from any problem with anesthetics because there is little room for error. When a problem occurs, the anesthesiology expert witness can opine on situations where the patient reacted poorly. These expert witnesses can testify on pediatric anesthesia, general anesthesia, spinal anesthetics, and nerve blocks.

The Forensic Expert Witness Association has filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court supporting a petition for review of the Lambert v. Carneghi decision (Case No. S 160995), which could allow litigants to sue their expert witnesses if the testimony is not favorable to the client. LivePR.com writes:

FEWA believes the decision may undermine an expert’s ability to be impartial and may create a bias against providing honest and forthright opinions in a court of law.

“The appellate court decision places experts giving testimony in California in an untenable position by forcing them to act as advocates for their client’s litigation arguments rather than serving their intended role of providing unbiased testimony,” said Lyle E. Coe, FEWA president. “It also would create extraordinary pressure on experts to slant or shade testimony, perhaps to the point of exaggerating or distorting the expert’s true opinions.”

Mary Jo McGrath, a child sexual abuse expert witness says California legislators should have the courage to hold school districts and other public agencies accountable for the actions of their employees by passing SB 1339. The expert witness is former chair of the U.S. Department of Education's Expert Panel on Safe and Drug-Free Schools and author of extensive training programs for school districts to raise awareness of sexual misconduct in schools, and to teach them proper complaint intake and investigation techniques. PR.com writes:

The bill under consideration extends the statute of limitations on the California Tort Claims Act relative to sexual abuse of students until the victim’s 26th birthday. Currently, the act requires a lawsuit to be filed within six months of the precipitating event. The amendment, proposed by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and passed by the judiciary committee, extends to public school students the same access to legal redress currently given to students in private schools, and importantly, gives school districts a reason to vigilantly protect students from such abuse, McGrath says.

A legal nurse consultant expert witness can identify the relevant standards a medical expert witness's testimony should adhere to and then prepare questions targeting those aspects in the case. A qualified LNC can also provide the coaching an expert witness needs to provide an objective testimony. The LNC acting as an expert witness consultant is instrumental in:

1) The selection of qualified physician experts
2) Selection of qualified nursing experts
3) Scheduling of an Independent Medical Exam (IME)