Expert Witness Blog

In The Many Faces of TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, brain injury expert witness Dr. John D. Lloyd, PhD, MErgS, CPE, CBIS, writes:

The brain is the most complex thing in the world. A baby’s brain at birth, weighing about 1 pound is already one-third the size of a typical 3-pound adult brain. And if we consider that there are one million nerve cells in a section of brain the size of a grain of rice, it is impossible to comprehend the billions and billions of neuronal pathways in an average brain. In fact, there are more neural connections in each brain than there are stars in the sky. A baby’s brain is the last of the major organs to develop in utero, where neurons are born from the division of a stem cell. Unlike most cells in the body, which die and are replaced, neurons, which are formed in the fetus, are designed to last for a lifetime.

There are two primary mechanisms associated with traumatic brain injury – impact loading and impulse loading.

In EFFECTIVE VALUATION & LITIGATION SUPPORT IN CORPORATE SECURITIES LAWSUITS, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar, CPA, CVA, ABV, CFF, MBA-Taxation, writes:

CORPORATE SECURITIES LITIGATION

• Minority shareholder rights • Going public or going private transactions • Securities fraud • Buy-sell agreements • Corporate dissolution

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

Concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a leading health issue resulting from head impacts associated with sports, recreation and transportation. Youths are particularly susceptible to head injury, though it can also devastate a professional career. Full recovery from mTBI often takes longer than expected, without which a second, even relatively innocuous, impact could have catastrophic outcomes.

Helmet manufacturers realize that their products may not reduce the risk of concussion and even NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment) standards are based on tests that ignore risks associated with concussions. Yet, clinicians recognize that brain injuries are caused by a combination of impact and impulse mechanisms, which engineers are readily able to measure in terms of linear and angular head motions.

In The Many Faces of TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, brain injury expert witness Dr. John D. Lloyd, PhD, MErgS, CPE, CBIS, writes:

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is often considered the signature injury of the ongoing military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, there are many more non-combat victims of the devastating effects of TBI, which can affect anyone, anytime, anywhere.

The very young and very old are both highly vulnerable to significant head trauma from otherwise innocuous household short falls. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), accidental falls are the number one cause of injury and number two cause of fatality in infants and young children. While teens and adolescents may believe they are superhuman at times, their young brains, which continue to develop into their mid-twenties, require extra protection due to the risky behaviors, which coincide with a peak in TBI fatalities. While the fully-formed adult skull may serve well as a helmet to protect the brain from milder impacts, there are many potentially injurious events that affect this group including automobile and motorcycle accidents, blunt force trauma, and impacts due to amateur and professional sports, including football, hockey, soccer, horse-riding, etc. Finally, in our golden years, where the brain atrophies, thereby increasing the risk of deformation, in combination with anti-coagulant (blood-thinning) therapies for various medical conditions can place elders at heightened risk of injury due to minor falls.

In EFFECTIVE VALUATION & LITIGATION SUPPORT IN CORPORATE SECURITIES LAWSUITS, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar, CPA, CVA, ABV, CFF, MBA-Taxation, writes:

Okay, let’s face it. There are always important concerns for the board of directors of any company, public or private. Today you, Director, and the board and company are served a lawsuit from dissenting shareholders. The lawsuit asserts the shareholders’ right to appraisal and alleges that the directors did not meet their duties of care and loyalty to the corporation and shareholders you serve. Substantial damages are being claimed due to alleged corporate securities fraud.

Great. And you thought this was going to be a nice, warm, bright Orange County day! Do you lose your appetite, kiss and hug your spouse, and call your therapist? Of course. When the company’s legal counsel tells you not to worry, do you continue to worry? Of course. Do you go to the special board meeting with corporate legal counsel and begin dealing with the matter head-on? Of course you do. You’re a director!

In Construction Process Can Lead to Defects, construction expert witness Michael S. Poles, GC, CM, RCI, DABFET, ACFE, writes on the complex process involved in a building project:

Building Materials Before building materials can be used in any building, they are first run through a highly complex, and extensive engineering, testing, and review process. This review process is usually conducted by a vast number of independent testing laboratories and the results are reviewed by many professional committees, such as the American Society for Testing and Materials, (A.S.T.M.) and the International Conference of Building Officials, (I.C.B.O.).

Reports of the testing results and the Professional Societies’ findings are published and updated regularly. These reports, often referred to as A.S.T.M. Standards, I.C.B.O. Reports, and Uniform Building Code Standards, state the minimum recommended standards for the use of the materials.