Expert Witness Blog

Telemarketing expert witnesses may give opinions regarding call center agents, computer telephony, and related topics. Here, the Telemarketing Connections Newsletter writes on recent telemarketing cases & statutes.

Illinois An Illinois court has ruled that a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) defendant’s offer to settle plaintiff’s claim mooted that claim such that it could not be removed to federal court. Damasco v. Clearwire Corp. The court, therefore, dismissed the case which had sought class action status for recipients of text messages from the defendant.

New York New York has amended its telemarketing statute to add required disclosures regarding negative option features and to expand the definition of telemarketing sales call to specifically include prerecorded messages and messages delivered to answering machines (New York Assembly Bill 8839). The bill also adds a disclosure required prior to the purchase of any good or service regarding negative option plans and that the customer’s account will be charged unless the customer takes affirmative action to cancel the sale.

In The Second Coming Of Healthcare Insurance, insurance expert witness Stephen George, MBA-HA, writes:

As the fastest increasing cost in healthcare, Pharmacy plans run the gamut of fully-insured to discount-only plans. Typical plans provide coverage within 3 and 4-tier copayment plans. Almost all insured plans exclude medications, so getting the detail is very important. These plans can be substituted into traditional Major Medical Insurance, Scheduled Medical and even Medicare supplemental plans to reduce premium and out of pocket costs. Mail order medications have met a new plane of efficiency and save dramatically on deductible and out of pocket copayment costs. In some cases, Discount cards offer greater out of pocket savings than insured pharmacy plans.

This reprint by permission of The Self-Insurer and The Self-Insurer’s Publishing Corp. as it appeared in the July, 2007 Edition.

Engineered composites expert witnesses may opine on vinyl chloride polymers, electroactive polymers, and functional polymers, among other topics. Here, The American Composites Manufacturing Association defines composites.

Not all plastics are composites. In fact, the majority of plastics today are pure plastic, like toys and soda bottles. When additional strength is needed, many types of plastics can be reinforced (usually with reinforcing fibers). This combination of plastic and reinforcement can produce some of the strongest materials for their weight that technology has ever developed…and the most versatile.

Therefore, composites, also referred to as fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is a combination of a:

In Ceramic Tile & Stone Industry News tile expert witness Donato V. Pompo of Ceramic Tile And Stone Consultants writes on tile job problems:

Common failures are due to substrate cracking and excessive deflection, moisture problems (that can lead to mold), bond failure, and lack of flatness or slope. Thankfully, remedies exist for correcting substrate problems, but it is important to first evaluate the substrate and take any corrective action as part of the floor preparation process.

Is the substrate made of a suitable material allowing for the application of Tile & Stone? Concrete substrates are always best because they are the most stable and are not significantly affected by exposure to moisture. There are limitations to adhering to lightweight concrete, as it tends to have an unstable surface, but remedies for even this situation exist. You can bond to wood, wall board, and steel, but with limitations.

Accident reconstruction expert witnesses may write reports on collision analysis, collision speed, and more. In State Farm Data Shows That October Remains Most Dangerous Month Nationally for Teen Crashes, the Accident Reconstruction Network reports:

Newly analyzed State Farm® claims data shows the trend continues – October remains the most dangerous month of the year for teen driver crashes nationally. In California, the numbers aren’t much different; February tops the list as the most accident prone month for teens, followed closely by October.

According to claims data spanning the last seven years, the highest number of injury or collision claims filed by 16- and 17-year old drivers continues to hit a high point in October, spiking by about 15 percent when compared to other months of the year. State Farm evaluated its extensive claims database from 2003 – 2009, and in every year, October continues to register the most claims across the United States and portions of Canada. About 70 percent of states show October as being among its top three months for teen accident claims.

In Chest Pain & Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice expert witness Barry Gustin, M.D. writes:

Any patient who has unstable vital signs or who requires resuscitation should be promptly admitted to the critical care unit and the appropriate consultants should be accessed in a timely manner. Patients with “classic” presentations of life-threatening diseases such as acute myocardial infarction or dissecting thoracic aneurysms also require admission and immediate stabilization. Well-trained emergency physicians should not have any difficulty recognizing acute situations.

But how should the physician approach the patient with an atypical or confusing clinical picture and what should the criteria be for admission versus discharge? In general, patients who have clinical presentations clearly indicative of benign or non-life threatening diseases may be sent home. This would include, for example, a young patient with a mild, sharp chest pain which increases with deep breathing and movement who has no risk factors for pulmonary embolism or cardiac disease and has a normal electrocardiogram, chest x-ray and blood gas. This patient can be sent home even though a clear diagnosis may not be indentified in the ER. Of course, the patient must be instructed to follow up with his private MD sooner if worse, within 24-48 hours.