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A former Maryland state trooper testified as an excessive force expert witness in the case against Prince George County, MD, officers Reginald Baker and James Harrison. Baker and Harrison are charged with excessive force in hitting a University of Maryland student with batons during a basketball postgame celebration. Student John McKenna was defenseless and on the ground.

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In Do Helmets Prevent Concussion? biomechanics expert witness John D. Lloyd, Ph.D., M.Erg.S., CPE, CBIS, writes:

Using proprietary miniature sensors to measure concussion risk at the center of the brain, BRAINS researchers completed more than 330 tests across ten popular helmet brands. The team concluded that while these helmets provide excellent protection from linear impacts – those leading to bruising and skull fracture – they offer little or no protection against angular acceleration, a dangerous source of brain injury and encephalopathy.

Results show percent reduction in linear impact acceleration, Head Injury Criterion (HIC), and angular acceleration provided by the different football helmets, compared to the same impact with no helmet. Note that all helmets provide considerable protection from skull fracture (blue) and focal brain impact (green), but are far less effective at reducing risk of diffuse brain injury and concussion and encephalopathy (red). In fact, some helmet designs offer no significant protection from concussion – and those that offer the least protection are among the most popular on the field.

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In EVALUATING AN EXPERT WITNESS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY CASES, school safety expert witness Michael Dorn writes:

Introduction There has been a dramatic increase in the number of people who work in the field of school safety, security and emergency preparedness since the tragic Columbine High School attack on April 20, 1999. Many practitioners are highly skilled and qualified. Some experts are properly qualified to work in some areas, but have no relevant background in other areas. This has led to a significant problem with school safety experts who work outside their areas of expertise. As with other disciplines, school safety expert witnesses who work outside their specialties can have a significant impact on court cases. For example, school safety experts have incurred financial liability for allegedly working beyond their areas of expertise as was the case in the deadly Red Lake Reservation school shooting.

Problems in addition to experts working beyond their field of expertise should be considered. For example, in a civil action brought against a public school system by the parents of a student murdered on campus, the school system settled the case shortly after they withdrew one of their expert witnesses prior to his deposition. I had been asked by plaintiff’s counsel to evaluate the defense’s expert witness to help counsel prepare to depose him. Though this expert witness had been interviewed by national media organizations, had many years of experience as a school safety consultant, had served previously as an expert witness in school safety cases, and had what could at first glance appear to be seemingly impressive credentials, I had questions about his suitability to serve as an expert witness.

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In Your Competitive Advantage, leading authority on expert witness marketing and founder of Expert Communications Rosalie Hamilton writes:

Who is your competition, and how do you compare? Considering that most cases requiring an expert witness involve at least two experts and our society shows no signs of becoming less litigious, competition should not be your primary concern in building an expert practice. You will learn valuable lessons, however, from analyzing the practices of two or three experts in your field. Study their professional qualifications, appearance, communication skills, and reputation among their peers, and note how they market themselves and the fees they charge.

Read more: http://www.expertcommunications.com/

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In Who Said Experts Shouldn’t Advertise?, leading authority on expert witness marketing and founder of Expert Communications Rosalie Hamilton writes:

In response to one of our recent emails to Expert News readers, we received an email saying, “I thought experts are not supposed to advertise, even through websites.”

I think you might find our dialogue of interest. I have edited the communication for length and confidentiality.

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Rheumatology expert witnesses may provide reports concerning fibromyalgia, arthritis, and lupus. Chief of Rheumatology at Hamad Medical Corporation, Dr. Mohammed Hammoudeh recently described arthritis as a serious public health problem which can cause disability in a child with long reaching results. For this reason, early diagnosis is crucial.

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In Do Helmets Prevent Concussion? biomechanics expert witness John D. Lloyd, Ph.D., M.Erg.S., CPE, CBIS, writes:

BRAINS Researchers Reveal Deficiencies in Football Helmet Design

Researchers at BRAINS, Inc. have conducted biomechanical tests revealing the deficiency of current football helmet designs in protecting players from brain injury, particularly concussion.

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In EVALUATING AN EXPERT WITNESS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY CASES, school safety expert witness Michael Dorn writes:

Purpose of this paper This document is designed to help legal risk management practitioners who must evaluate the match between an expert and a school safety court case. Court cases involving school safety issues are extremely important because they can at times involve not only millions of dollars, but also have a major impact on the lives of victims, surviving family members as well as the people and organizations named as defendants. For example, a student who incurs serious permanent injury may require millions of dollars in future medical care over a lifetime. At the same time, serious allegations of misconduct or negligence can affect the lives and reputations of school officials, public safety officials and school organizations named as defendants.

This article provides a list of questions attorneys may want to ask an expert witness before deciding to retain the expert as well as tips for evaluating an expert witness retained by opposing counsel. This information should be helpful to insurance professionals and judges who are tasked with determining if an expert is properly qualified for a particular case. As a non-profit school safety center, the goal of Safe Havens International is to help make schools safer, more effective places to learn and to work. Efficient and fair resolution of legal disputes relating to school safety situations supports these goals.