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In JRW Healthcare Article, health care coverage expert witness Jon R. Wampler writes:

Tort reform is the next step to take in helping straighten out our healthcare system. Currently, about 10% of our total healthcare expenditures are a result of “defensive medicine”, testing just in case there is a lawsuit filed. This amounts to over $210 Billion annually. Sadly, our President and the Democratic Party as a whole are handcuffed by their support from trial lawyers. Tort reform will not be an easy task because Congress is made up in overwhelming numbers by attorneys; but could be made easier if advanced by one of their own, namely the President.

Patients must do their part as well. Physicians do make mistakes; but, we must not punish the entire system by making physicians order every test and every procedure just in order to prevent unhappy and litigious patients. We need to think long and hard about limits on damages, punitive damages and the ease of lawsuits. We need to let physicians get on with the business of providing adequate, appropriate care to their patients without having to resort to the type of practice we have now where everything must be ruled out just because of the risk of lawsuits.

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In JRW Healthcare Article, medical insurance expert witness Jon R. Wampler writes:

Secondly, we need to drastically increase the number of Family Physicians, General Internists, and General Pediatricians. Our ratio of Family Practice physicians to specialists runs about 30/70. We need to reverse that percentage with Family Medicine restored to its traditional place of dignity and importance.

Only 2% of this year’s medical students have chosen Family Medicine as their specialty. If you think waiting for an appointment is bad now, just add 45 million more people to the mix to find out just what the word ugly means. As baby boomers age (78 million of us now out of 330 million), the need for Family Medicine is more urgent than ever.

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In JRW Healthcare Article, health insurance expert witness Jon R. Wampler writes:

Both political parties continue to focus solely on the supply side of our healthcare problem. We really need to be looking at the demand side as well. Value over volume should be everyone’s chief focus, but this will require sacrifice from everyone; physicians, patients, insurance carriers and the uninsured. We simply cannot afford to give everyone everything, no matter what the President says. The numbers just don’t add up.

It is time for all Americans to take a deep breath and revisit what could be done to make our healthcare system more accessible to all, less expensive, provide wider coverage, improve health for average Americans and still allow the 1300 companies currently providing healthcare coverage to continue to do so.

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In 5 Things You Have To Do Before You Start Any Negotiation, sales expert Dr. Jim Anderson writes:

To help get you properly prepared for your next sales negotiation, I’ve got some suggestions. Here are five steps that you need to take before you sit down at the negotiating table:

# Deal With “No”: Arguably the word “no” is one of the most powerful words in the English language and it can stop any sales negotiator in his / her tracks if you aren’t prepared for it. Before the negotiation starts you need to assume that the other side is going to say “no” to every proposal that you make. Knowing this, you need to decide in advance how you are going to react when they say it.

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In The Expert Nurse Witness, Ellen K. Murphy writes:

THE ROLE OF A NURSE EXPERT

After being retained as an expert witness, the perioperative nurse should carefully review all relevant health care records. At a minimum, this includes records from the entire health episode at issue, not just those from the perioperative period. The nurse expert will want to try to get a complete picture of what happened and when.

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Trucking industry expert witness Robert R. Reed writes on Truck/tractor-trailer crashes:

4.”OBC”and “GPS” – This technology is most important and provides a wealth of knowledge for reconstruction after the at-scene investigation. The information from these systems travels in real time from the truck to satellites, ground based towers or the internet and is transmitted to trucking company computers. This information can include driver communication, messages to truck, maintenance, monitoring freight, driver payroll, miles traveled, expences, trip reports, fuel stops, fuel consumption, idle time, truck position and status reports, driver activities, hours of service, “GPS” location, time and distance reports and pick up and deliver times. These technology advanced systems are invaluable to modern trucking companies for use in the management of their operations. These same systems should become part of the normal crash reconstruction process. These systems can be identified on the truck by the monitor and keyboard in the cab and special antenna that looks like “old type popcorn popper” that is usually mounted on back of cab or roof by wind deflector. Also trucking companies with out computers create this same type information in hard copy written documents.

5.Don’t rush investigation, secure all information and analyze along with traditional reconstruction efforts to arrive at any causal factors. Trucking companies, truck drivers, injured parties, deceased victims and family members all deserve complete and accurate results from all investigations. * * *Footnote: This article was written to give insight and help enhance large truck crash investigations and is from personal experience in assisting police departments, prosecutors, working as an expert/consultant in civil litigation along with over 30 years in the trucking industry.

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On July 5, 2010, financial planning experts at Equestrian Professional will begin a three-part seminar series on financial planning for horse professionals. This series will focus on what horse professionals can do to create a secure financial outlook for their businesses and their own financial future.

The first seminar we will address financial recovery and stability. The speaker will be successful farm manager, Pam Saul of Breslin & Young financial planners. The second seminar in the series will focus on asset and earnings protection. The speaker will be equine insurance expert, Reed Schroeder, who will cover insurance options for horse professionals. The third and final seminar in the series will focus on building for the future – financial planning and prosperity. The speaker will be investment manger, Marc Reisman, who will discuss retirement planning and investment options for horse professionals.

If you are in the horse business, you can’t afford to miss this seminar series. Equestrian Professional’s seminars can be attended online via webcast or via your phone. The lecture portion is free to all horse professionals but you must register to attend.*

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On July 5, 2010, financial planning experts at Equestrian Professional will begin a three-part seminar series on financial planning for horse professionals. This series will focus on what horse professionals can do to create a secure financial outlook for their businesses and their own financial future.

The Reactions

Many horse business owners have dipped into their retirements and savings (or maxed out their credit) in order to weather the recession. Others have made significant (and successful) changes to their businesses, but are finding that they must now adjust their business model in order to make these changes more profitable. Still others are in a state of uncertainty – the recession may have presented them with an opportunity- for example, to purchase discounted real estate or invest in a special horse. However, they find themselves reluctant to make a commitment in the current economic climate.

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In 5 Things You Have To Do Before You Start Any Negotiation, sales expert Dr. Jim Anderson writes:

To help get you properly prepared for your next sales negotiation, I’ve got some suggestions. Here are five steps that you need to take before you sit down at the negotiating table:

Create A “Want” List: How can you be successful during a negotiation if you don’t know what you want? Take the time to create a list of what you want to get out of the negotiation. Be careful here: not all wants are created the same. Make sure that you distinguish between the ones that you can’t live without and the ones that would just be nice to have.

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In THE PERFECT STORM: The Science Behind Subrogating Catastrophic Flood Losses, hydrology expert witness Richard Van Bruggen writes:

The National Flood Insurance Act also required the identification of all floodplain areas and established flood risk zones. This is good news for subrogation professionals because it provides a warning to landowners and potential tortfeasors that flooding could occur and that additional safeguards should be taken. Sometimes, constructive notice to a potential tortfeasor of the dangerous propensity of flooding in an area is as easy as indicating it in the property deed, legal description, or other documents relating to the property. In the earlier example involving the Subaru vehicles being flooded in Kenosha, Wisconsin, there was a great deal of disagreement as to whether or not the vehicles were actually parked on a “100-year flood plain”. There was even disagreement as to exactly what that meant. City and state records were sketchy, and the entire area had been covered in crushed gravel, further complicating the question as to whether or not a floodplain had existed. Early land deeds were pulled and anecdotal testimony from farmers in the area was successfully solicited in order to show a pattern of flooding in the area where the vehicles were stored. One farmer had kept meticulous rainfall and flood records in an old notebook going back fifty years.