Expert Witness Blog

In Insurance 101 – Property – Casualty Basics, the American Insurance Association writes on commercial property insurance:

Commercial property policies cover buildings and the organization’s property, and include a type of coverage known as “business interruption” designed to help a company continue operating if it is put out of its office/physical plant by a covered risk. Commercial liability policies protect policyholders against financial responsibility for injury or property damage resulting from a policyholder’s premises, products, services, or other operations. One example of commercial casualty coverage is workers’ compensation, which deals with lost earnings and medical expenses of employees injured on the job.

Commercial liability policies expert witnesses may testify on commercial property losses, workers’ compensation, and other insurance issues.

Wrongful death expert witness Barry Gustin, MD, MPH, FAAEP, writes on de-escalating the toxicologically altered aggressive individual:

Toxicologists when reviewing cases are often faced with a subject in question that had altered mental status as a consequence of the effects of illicit substances. In this setting, dealing with aggressive patients can make a big difference in outcome. Patient death or injury resulting from the use of restraint and seclusion is an increasing concern in the field and in prison. Excessive and inappropriate TASER use has also been associated with sudden death. A well-known 1998 article documented 142 restraint-related deaths nationwide over a decade, 40% of which were attributed to unintentional asphyxiation during restraint. Restraint not only poses a risk for patient harm but also is physically and emotionally traumatizing for staff involved in the incident. Many have pointed out that high restraint rates are now understood as evidence of treatment failure. Since the Joint Commission began tracking sentinel events in 1996, it has reviewed the deaths of 20 patients who were physically restrained. Since then, the Joint Commission has advocated standards based on prevention as an intervention and the use of restraint as a last resort only after the least restrictive measures are exhausted.

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In Insurance 101 – Property – Casualty Basics, the American Insurance Association writes on liability claim costs:

Liability claim costs generally are broken down into two categories: 1) special damages, which include the claimant’s out-of-pocket expenses and lost wages; and, 2) general damages, which cover compensation for pain and suffering (often called non-economic damages). The claim representative/adjuster has the responsibility to offer a fair settlement to the injured party (whether first- or third-party), but can offer only up to the dollar limits of the policy. Once the claimant and company agree on the amount of loss, the company pays that amount (less the amount of a deductible in first-party claims). If there is disagreement over the claim, the matter may go to arbitration, mediation, or court for resolution.

Liability insurance expert witnesses may write reports and opine on insurance claims, damages, and other insurance matters.

Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. For instance, biotechnology is applied to improve or facilitate cellular processes such as energy metabolism, gene transfer between unrelated species, or the engineering of enzymes for large scale production of drugs.

White biotechnology refers to biotechnology applied to industrial processes. It involves the use of enzymes and organisms for the processing and production of chemicals, materials, and energy. Biochemical engineering expert witnesses may opine on production of bulk and fine chemicals, biofuels, and agricultural products.

Read more: biologyonline.org.

In A Law and Finance Analysis of Hedge Funds, finance expert Douglas Cumming, Associate Professor and Ontario Research Chair in the Schulich School of Business at York University, describes the paper on hedge funds he wrote with Na Dai, SUNY at Albany:

This paper empirically analyzes the impact of hedge fund regulation on fund structure and performance. The data indicate restrictions on the location of key service providers and permissible distributions via wrappers are associated with lower fund alphas, lower average monthly returns, and higher fixed fees. Further, restrictions on the location of key service providers are associated with lower manipulation-proof performance measures, while wrapper distributions are associated with lower performance fees. As well, the data show standard deviations of monthly returns are lower among jurisdictions with restrictions on the location of key service providers and higher minimum capitalization requirements.

Finance expert witnesses may opine on hedge funds, financial planning, structured finance, financial projections, and more.

Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. For instance, biotechnology is applied to improve or facilitate cellular processes such as energy metabolism, gene transfer between unrelated species, or the engineering of enzymes for large scale production of drugs.

Red biotechnology refers to the use of organisms for the improvement of medical processes. It includes the designing of organisms to manufacture pharmaceutical products like antibiotics and vaccines, the engineering of genetic cures through genomic manipulation, and its use in forensics through DNA profiling. Biotechnology expert witnesses may opine on antibiotics, genomic manipulation, genetic engineering, and more.

Read more: biologyonline.org.

In Insurance 101 – Property – Casualty Basics, the American Insurance Association writes:

The property casualty insurance industry provides protection from risk in two basic areas: protection for physical items, such as houses, personal possessions, cars, commercial buildings, and inventory (property), and protection against legal liability (casualty). Property insurance is a “first-party” coverage for losses related to a policyholder’s own person/property. Casualty (or liability) insurance is a “third-party” coverage for a policyholder’s legal obligations against losses the policyholder may cause to others.

These two basic types of coverage are written for both individuals or families (“personal lines” policies) and businesses (“commercial lines” policies). Personal lines policies include homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and vehicle coverage. For example, homeowners policies cover both fire damage to a house and/or contents, plus legal defense costs and liabilities should a person be injured on the policyholder’s property.

Wrongful death expert witness Barry Gustin, MD, MPH, FAAEP, writes on avoiding medical malpractice when patients are handed off to other physicians:

When patients are transferred from one doctor to another, or from an outpatient setting to a hospital or nursing home, there is an increased chance of a serious mishap that can lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit. Who is ultimately found liable for fumbling the patient handoff may be up to a jury to decide years after the event. Plaintiffs’ attorneys generally will sue everyone involved in the patients’ care – at least initially — regardless of their degree of accountability, until the facts are clear.

Problems with handoff communication are listed as one of the root causes in up to 70% of adverse sentinel events compiled by the Joint Commission. The potential for something to go wrong — needed follow-up care that slips through the cracks or vital information that isn’t communicated in a timely fashion — can have life or death impact for patients. It’s also a leading driver of malpractice lawsuits against health professionals.