Expert Witness Blog

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)

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.

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.”

Corrosion expert witnesses may write reports and opine on galvanic corrosion, pitting corrosion, corrosion fatigue, and more. The Corrosion Technology Laboratory at the NASA Kennedy Space Center defines corrosion fatigue:

Corrosion fatigue is a special case of stress corrosion caused by the combined effects of cyclic stress and corrosion. No metal is immune from some reduction of its resistance to cyclic stressing if the metal is in a corrosive environment. Damage from corrosion fatigue is greater than the sum of the damage from both cyclic stresses and corrosion. Control of corrosion fatigue can be accomplished by either lowering the cyclic stresses or by corrosion control.

For more, corrosion.ksc.nasa.gov.

Alternative medicine expert witnesses may opine on herbal medicine, homeopathy, holistic medicine, and related topics. In his 2001 book, Over Dose: The Case Against the Drug Companies, Dr. Jay S. Cohen warned about the risks of the new, best-selling anti-inflammatory drugs such as Celebrex. A couple years later, Vioxx and Bextra were withdrawn from the market because of serious side effects, Celebrex was reduced to a third tier drug. Dr. Cohen has published papers on how to use NSAID medications as safely as possible, and notes that there are natural non-drug alternatives that can reduce pain and inflammation.

Read more: medicationsense.com.