Expert Witness Blog

I asked safety and disaster management expert Dr. Michael J. Fagel to comment on the Typhoon Haiyan disaster. He specializes in industrial safety, OSHA, safety, FEMA, security, transportation, and the food industries. He spent over 100 days at ground zero following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Planning, something we always talk about, but, when the disaster happens, we wonder what has occurred and why. The extraordinary events that have occurred in the Philippines, underscore the need for human services and support. I have been to many hurricanes and man made disasters over the last 30 years.

We must strive for open and honest communications during the event. Specifically,

Accident investigation expert witnesses may give opinions and provide reports concerning crash investigations, preservation of the accident scene, skidmark analysis, and more. In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first half 2013 which showed that an estimated 15,470 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. USA Today reported this week that hit-and-run crashes, including fatal ones, are increasing in many big cities. Los Angeles has the dubious distinction of having almost half of accidents fall into this category.

Dr. Sara Solnick, Professor at the University of Vermont, has studied hit-and-run crashes in the context of the economic model of behavior. She says drivers who have much to lose, e.g. young drivers, those under the influence, or those without a license, are motivated to not get caught.

Transportation expert witnesses may consult on bus & truck safety, highways, transportation engineering, transportation safety, and associated matters. This past week the National Transportation Safety Board announced their investigations into deadly crashes in the past year has resulted in a recommended audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s oversight procedures. Four commercial vehicle accidents resulted in 25 deaths in the time period December 2012 to June 2013. Investigations revealed safety problems that went unnoticed or were not remedied by the FMCSA until after the accidents.

For more information, see the November 7, 2013, NTSB Press Release.

Real estate appraisal expert witness Carlton Segars testified this week that South Carolina bank First National Bank, as well as their appraiser, acted fraudulently in a $3M loan made to state Senator Ray Cleary and his investment company. The fraudulent appraisal under-reported wetlands on the property. The wetlands cannot be developed but First National Bank allegedly included them in the loan amount.

Wetlands may be a marsh, swamp, bog, slough, etc. EPA regulations at 40 CFR 230.3(t) explain that:

Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors, including human disturbance. Indeed, wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics and on every continent except Antarctica.

Pharmacology expert witnesses may opine on generic drugs, patented drugs, pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical medicine, and the pharmaceutical industry. Not commonly known is the fact that 40% of prescription drugs used in the US are manufactured outside the US. News this week revealed unsavory business practices by the drug company Ranbaxy in India. Ranbaxy chemical engineer Dinesh Thakur became a whistleblower and exposed that Ranbaxy drugs were made improperly. Ranbaxy was ordered to pay $500 million in fines and settlements.

FDA news release, Sept. 16, 2013: FDA prohibits manufacture of FDA-regulated drugs from Ranbaxy’s Mohali, India, plant and issues import alert.

Read more: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm368445.h

Domestic abuse expert witnesses may consult and testify on domestic violence, family violence, domestic assault, and related matters. Lawrence Cambra fatally shot an Oregon volunteer officer-in-training this past weekend after having police called to the residence 10 times in 2012 for domestic disputes. When Officer Robert Libke arrived at the burning house, Cambra shot him in the face with a rifle. Officer Libke had not drawn his weapon.

Domesticviolence.org decribes domestic violence:
Violence can be criminal and includes physical assault (hitting, pushing, shoving, etc.), sexual abuse (unwanted or forced sexual activity), and stalking. Although emotional, psychological and financial abuse are not criminal behaviors, they are forms of abuse and can lead to criminal violence.

How may pesticides expert witnesses consult on pesticide contamination? These professionals may write reports and testify on insects, pesticide products, pesticide regulations, pesticide pollution, and more. This week, two pesticides have been linked to an increased risk of the medical condition endometriosis. Mirex and beta HCH have been banned in the US for many years but are still found in some dairy products and fish.

Mirex was developed to control fire ants. The chemical unfortunately becomes more concentrated and toxic as it travels up the food chain to humans. The pesticide beta HCH was used over 30 years ago but traces may still be found in the environment. Studies on humans show that exposure is linked to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Read more at http://www.epa.gov/.

Cell phone expert witnesses may consult and testify on wireless communications, cellular, and wireless networks. This week, the Rockstar Consortium (owned by Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, Ericsson and Sony) sued Google, Samsung, and others over alleged mobile phone patent infringements. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Texas while at the same time Samsung and Apple are in patent litigation in more than 10 European countries.

Dan Rowinski, Mobile Editor at ReadWrite, says Rockstar could be considered a “non-practicing entity.” While NPEs are patent holders, they do not manufacture products or supply services based on these patents and are sometimes referred to as “patent trolls.” On October 30, 1023, Sen. Orrin Hatch introduced the Patent Litigation Integrity Act (S. 1612) to inhibit litigation by patent trolls.

What types of cases may wireless technology expert witnesses consult on? They may assist with disputes involving wireless communications, cellular, GPS, and more. The Global Positioning System is a navigation system made possible by 24 satellites in orbit 12K miles above the earth. The satellites are solar powered and each circles the earth twice a day.

In the news, a Philadelphia federal appeals court ruled that police must have a warrant before using GPS to track a suspect’s vehicle. In Case No. 12-2548, Judge Greenaway opined: “This appeal stems from the Government’s warrant-less installation of a Global Positioning System device (a “GPS device” or “GPS tracker”) to track the movements of appellee Harry Katzin’s van.”

Transit expert witnesses may opine on bus & truck safety, highways, bridges, transportation engineering, and related matters. Background information on these issues may be found at the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration website which offers news releases, policy letters, the FTA library (which includes a Legislation & Law search page), and much more.

There is also an email update service. I signed up for the Transit Research Update and Press Releases.