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Trucking expert witnesses may opine on the trucking industry and trucking and transportation rules and regulations. The American Trucking Associations website reports that:

The Missouri State Highway Patrol recently teamed up with NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing team and Con-way Freight to kick off a statewide safety campaign against texting while driving, according to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. The safety campaign’s logo will also be displayed on Con-way Freight’s No. 16 Ford Fusion race car driven by Colin Braun, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat said.

“Anybody can drive a vehicle if they’re focused on it 100 percent,” Braun said. “As a race car driver I don’t [text] while I’m racing, and I don’t do it in my personal car. I know I can’t do it safely, and I’ve got quick reflexes compared to a lot of people on the road.” Missouri became the 23rd state to adopt a ban on texting in August of 2009, when the state made it illegal for drivers under the age of 21 to text while driving, said the Missouri DOT website. However, the newly launched safety campaign advocates that all drivers – regardless of age – refrain from texting while driving.

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Two police procedures expert witnesses with Force Science backgrounds are believed to have been influential in a jury’s recent decision to reject a murder conviction of a former transit officer accused of deliberately shooting an unarmed suspect in the back during a handcuffing scuffle.

The witnesses, Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute, and retired LAPD captain Greg Meyer, a certified Force Science Analyst, testified in detail how a combination of inadequate training and psychological stress phenomena most likely led to a tragic accident in which the officer mistakenly drew his sidearm instead of his X26 Taser while trying to restrain the struggling suspect. The prosecution had claimed the incident was one of intentional homicide by an out-of-control cop.

“This case,” Lewinski told Force Science News, “is a classic illustration of powerful forces beyond an officer’s conscious awareness that can shape a threatening encounter. These forces may not be readily evident even to unbiased witnesses, but in a matter of seconds they can change the lives of those involved forever.”

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Metropolitan News-Enterprise reports a trial court erred in removing plaintiffs’ medical malpractice expert witness in a trial on the basis that defense counsel’s representation of the doctor 10 years earlier created an irreconcilable conflict of interest, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled on July 16th.

Div. Three said prophylactic removal was unnecessary where the expert waived any conflict arising out of the previous representation, so long as that waiver was unequivocal.

Orange Superior Court Commissioner Janet C. Pesak disqualified board-certified plastic surgeon John M. Shamoun from testifying against physician Mark Knight in a suit over a liposuction he performed on Laura Montgomery. Montgomery sued Knight in 2007, alleging she was injured by the procedure, and her husband, Douglas, brought a claim for loss of consortium.

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Insurance expert witnesses may opine on insurance customs, insurance practices, malpractice insurance, surplus insurance and more. Here the Surplus Line Association of Illinois answers the question: What is surplus line insurance?

Since this insurer is not licensed in your state, they are not regulated by your state’s Department of Insurance in the same way licensed insurers are regulated (they are, however, regulated in the state or country where they are domiciled or located). Since they are not strictly regulated by your state, they are generally free from the form or rate regulations imposed on licensed insurers. This gives them the freedom to maintain broader internal guidelines for accepting risks. They have more flexibility to design and price their policies and can, therefore, accept risks that licensed insurers will not.

In many states, including Illinois, the licensed surplus line producer is required to ascertain that the insurer meets certain financial standards before buying a policy from them. In many other states the Department of Insurance, or some other authority, monitors the financial condition of surplus line insurers and maintains a list of insurers that surplus line producers are allowed to use. Whether done by the surplus line producer, the state Department of Insurance, or some other entity, this financial monitoring is an important function because if the insurer were to fail (go bankrupt), there is no guaranty fund protection for you.

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In Hostile Opposing Counsel Expert Communications.com writes:

This all brings to mind a deposition I had in which the opposing counsel made a very big deal of the fact I had not brought exactly some financial data on my expert practice he had requested (I had brought something equivalent and in fact more responsive to his concerns). He then proceeded to politely but persistently ask me the same question over and over, in different ways but always the same question. My answer was critical to his case, and I answered politely but firmly each time. He never got what he wanted, and politely made sure I knew he was not happy about this. I thought he was a bit of a jerk.

Several months later he called me and asked me to work with him on a case. He introduced me to his partners as an expert who “is really good”. It was only then that I realized he had been “trying me on for size” in that first deposition. Since that time he and his partners have become regular clients. I have come to understand he is in fact a pretty nice guy, and a well respected attorney. Learning how lawyers play the game is one of the many things I enjoy about my expert practice.

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Electronics expert Michael Williams testified in federal hearings that emergency alarms on board the Deepwater Horizon were disabled weeks before it exploded, killing 11 workers and spewing more than 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, is the most damning evidence yet of shoddy maintenance and compromised safety systems on board the oil rig.

Hearings conducted by a federal panel of investigators from the US Coast Guard and the department of the interior have already uncovered several incidents of apparent safety irregularities that leave both BP, the oil giant that was working the Macondo well, and Transocean, the owner of the oil rig that was operating under contract to BP, with big questions to answer.

Williams, a former Marine, managed to survive the explosion on 20 April by jumping from the burning rig. His evidence before the federal panel in Kenner, on the outskirts of New Orleans, suggested a litany of problems, from alarm systems that had been switched off to software that was so faulty the rig’s computer systems – critical for the monitoring of key safety equipment – regularly crashed.

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In THE REAL ESTATE CLIENT: VALUATION SERVES IMPORTANT MASTERS IN LITIGATION CASES, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar writes on the valuation expert:

The valuation expert provides many assets to the litigation arena of a limited partner’s attempt to recover value for his/her investment. The expert can assist in coordinating, selecting and supervising other experts on the case and help in the assessment of the case and early approximation of ranges of value of the limited partnership interest. The valuation appraiser provides expert testimony, critique of the opposition, and rebuttal. Legal counsel is assisted and supported in developing briefs, discovery, and preparation of interrogatories. The skilled valuation expert also provides litigation support in research and damage calculations.

The valuation expert here is valuing the real estate limited partner’s partnership interest, taking into account its underlying asset value, lack of control and saleability.

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Forestry expert witness Russell E. Carlson, RCA, BCMA, Tree Tech Consulting, writes on Guidelines for Protection of Trees on Construction Sites:

The following guidelines are minimum standards recommended for the preservation of trees. These guidelines should be incorporated in construction contracts, and the details made available to all parties involved with work on the site, including equipment operators. Other guidelines and protective measures may also be appropriate, in addition tho those listed below.

1. Protection Barrier: A protection barrier shall be installed around the tree or trees to be preserved. The barrier shall be constructed of durable fencing material, such as plastic construction fencing, snow fence, or chain-link fencing. The barrier shall be placed as far from the base of the tree(s) as possible, preferably at the drip-line. The fencing shall be maintained in good repair throughout the duration of the project, and shall not be removed, relocated, or encroached upon without permission of the arborist involved.

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The House leadership pulled a bill off of the floor before a vote could be taken on legislation that would add windstorm coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The bill, H.R. 1264, introduced by Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., could still be taken up again at any time, but for the moment, insurance industry representatives were satisfied that the House did not pass the measure after legislators discussed it on July 22.

An insurance industry expert told NU Online News Service that it is believed the bill was pulled because Rep. Taylor did not have enough votes to secure passage. The industry representative said the bill is not likely to come up next week and could be on hold until September.

In a formal statement of administration policy, the White House said that the Multiple Peril Insurance Act-H.R. 1264-would expand the government’s role in providing windstorm coverage that is “already readily available in the private sector.”

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In 7 Habits of Highly Successful Surveys, marketing experts at Vovic Corporation write:

Surveys are perhaps the most proven method for gathering data about customers in a structured way. But a number of trends have made it harder for survey authors to be successful. First, phone surveys suffered declining responses, as people thought the Do Not Call list exempted them from surveys (it doesn’t) and as households gave up landlines for cell phones (which it is against U.S. law to call in an automated fashion). Now, web survey response rates are dropping due to the rise in spam and the increasing use of smart phones to check email. A successful survey is one that is designed to meet its original goal, provides accurate data that is representative of the target population, and that improves the satisfaction level of its respondents. This whitepaper distills the seven keys to ensuring the best possible outcome for the survey author.
1. Focus on a Goal 2. Survey the Right Number of People 3. Craft Your Invitation Carefully 4. Order Questions Logically 5. Write Objective Questions 6. Shorten the Survey 7. Close the Feedback Loop