Auto insurance claims expert witnesses may opine on policies, auto repairs, and injury claims. In Who is at Fault? Auto Insurance Claim Advice writes:
Learn How Insurance Companies Determine Fault
Who is at fault for the accident? How does a claim adjuster determine that you are at fault? While we are answering these questions, we can also ask, “How does a judge, an attorney, an arbitrator, or a jury determine that someone is at fault or “more” at fault than someone else?”
In Are You Waiting Too Long To Hire An Expert?, construction site expert witness William Gulya, Jr., President & CEO, Middlesex Trenching Company, writes:
Once the need for an expert becomes inevitable through fact pattern or because your adversary has made the choice for you by their strategy to use an expert, you should retain and consult with your expert as soon as possible. The earlier the expert is involved in the case the faster they become thoroughly familiar with significant facts. This advantage will often expose elements of your case that you may not have considered initially. Your expert should be able to give you an objective and detailed analysis of both the strengths and vulnerabilities that may be faced, specific to the areas of his or her expertise.
Waiting to choose an expert until later in the process runs the risk of being unable to retain the best candidate for your particular litigation. The most frustrating situation you can put your expert witness in is with a request to review extensive materials in an unrealistic timeline and often where experts on the other side have been in place for some time and thus have a distinct advantage.
Construction expert witnesses may testify on construction management, construction standards of care, construction cost estimates, and more. Here, San Francisco construction expert says line-item billing can save money when remodeling:
Everyone knows that construction projects have a tendency to overrun their original estimates. Steven Donnelly, owner of San Francisco green builder House to Home, says that in these tough economic times it’s more important than ever for people considering remodeling their homes to make sure that the quote they get will reflect what they actually have to pay. Finding a contractor who uses line-item billing is the best way to avoid having to shell out money for unexpected charges later on.
Construction projects can end up costing more than anticipated if the estimate doesn’t properly itemize the costs. Homeowners should make sure they get a detailed proposal that accounts for all the costs, not just ballpark estimates.
In Optimizing Your Use of Banking and Financial Institution Experts, banking expert witness Michael F. Richards writes:
The past year and a half I have been working as a Banking Expert Witness and have notices some areas where banking experts are not optimized. Since my expertise is in banking, I will limit my discussion to that area. Banking and Financial Institution are a heavily regulated industry with many different regulatory agencies overseeing the day-to-day operations. Some of these regulators, depending on the type of bank charter, include but are not limited to the following:
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
Jerry Grodin, a licensed psychiatrist and former president of the New York State Psychiatric Association, is often called on as an expert witness in forensic psychology in the Capital District. “The system is unprepared to deal with mental illness,” the expert says. The problem is that even when people are found to be mentally unstable, it is often not until they have worked their way through the system for a while. “The system does not screen for people who have a mental condition (early enough).”
Jill Daniels, spokesperson for the New York State Office of Mental Health says “there are close to 8,000 people in New York state who are receiving (mental health) treatment in state prisons.”
Read more: thesaratogian.
In How to Write a Medical Malpractice Expert Witness Report, attorney Vivian Pearson explains:
Your medical malpractice expert witness report should be targeted to your attorney’s specifications. Before you begin to prepare your report, know what he or she is expecting in terms or length, formatting, font, and amount of details to include. To ensure that you meet your attorney’s guidelines and ensure you are paid on time, give your attorney a draft of the report to review before you put it in final form.
7. Disclose your fees. In some jurisdictions, you may be asked to disclose pay or other compensation you received in exchange for your report.
In Preparing and Presenting Expert Testimony, traffic engineer and accident reconstruction expert witness Lawrence Levine writes:
The conflict between the lawyer and the expert is quite obvious. The lawyer is committed to his client to do whatever he or she must, within the boundaries of the law, to win or get the best settlement for the case. When representing the plaintiff, he or she takes a great gamble that they may not receive any payment, even for expenses, should the case be lost or fail to settle before or during trial. The expert, on the other hand, gets paid by the hour or per diem for court appearance, regardless of the outcome.
For all the above reasons, it is essential for the consulting expert witness to have a Retainer Agreement which so states his fee schedule and the limitations of his involvement in the case. The attorney is asked to submit a retainer to the engineer before work is commenced to insure that this basis of understanding is documented and not misinterpreted.
Space planning expert witnesses may write reports on residential designs, architectural interiors and related topices. At Whole Building Design Guide.org, Frances Mazarella, ASID, LEED AP, GSA defines interior design:
Interior design concerns itself with more than just the visual or ambient enhancement of an interior space; it seeks to optimize and harmonize the uses to which the built environment will be put. Thus, in the words of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is “practical, aesthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity, selling merchandise, or improving life style.” Interior design is a practice that responds to changes in the economy, organization, technology, demographics, and business goals of an organization.
Read more wbdg.org.
Interior design expert witnesses may testify on space planning, green retrofits, commercial designs, and related topics. Here, Building and Design Construction writes on the holistic approach critical to green retrofits:
To make a retrofit of an old building truly sustainable, you’ve got to address all systems and aspects of the structure. That’s the lesson taken from the OXFAM Canada headquarters project in Ottawa. The 1950s-era building was given a green makeover on a tight budget-C$100/ s.f. (http://dcnonl.com/article/id42268 )
Retrofits are often limited to single items such as boilers, insulation or lighting. But Rodney Wilts, a partner with design consultants BuildGreen Solutions, says “an aggregate, holistic approach produces more meaningful results.” It seems that this strategy will pay off for OXFAM. BuildGreen expects utility bills to be about half of what they would have been without the retrofit.
Auto insurance claims expert witnesses may opine on policies, auto repairs, and injury claims. In How to Read an Auto Policy, Auto Insurance Claim Advice asks: Do you know where your auto insurance policy is?
Okay, even if you know where your auto policy is located, do you have time to read it thoroughly? Probably not.
I know this because before I was “into” insurance, my policy and all other junk mail from my insurance company went into one drawer labeled “auto insurance stuff.”
