Expert Witness Blog

In Truck/Tractor-trailer brakes and accident reconstruction, trucking expert witness
Robert Reed writes:

Compatibility is also an issue as older trucks pull newer trailers and newer trucks pull older trailers. This creates different issues for reconstruction. Load conditions, total weight, weather, environment, road and tire conditions, brake system maintenance, adjustment, capacity and capabilities must also be considered. These issues can produce conflicting data, cloud issues and render unfair judgments on the drivers/vehicles involved. Remember that since March 1999 trucks and buses with hydraulic brakes are ABS equipped and trucks with air brakes have ABS after March 1997 and air brake trailers have ABS after March 1, 1998. These are manufacture dates of the vehicles. Analyze all data carefully, identify systems properly to understand actions of the vehicles involved in the crash.

In his article Insurers: To Rescind Or Not to Rescind?, insurance agency expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

The insurer cannot reasonably rely on a fact received from the insured alone if it is aware of a conflicting fact.

• Did the insurer rely on it?

electronic evidence recovery expert witness Steven G. Burgess writes on: The Case for Electronic Discovery:

Nearly all documents created in offices these days begin their lives on a computer, as a computer file. Computer files are quite dynamic in nature. They change over time as they are accessed. Computer files are not immortal, but the act of deleting a file does not destroy it. Nonetheless, the very act of using a computer overwrites computer files. This document describes how documents are created, what happens to them after their creation or attempted destruction, and explains the following important points:

* Documents when deleted are not necessarily destroyed, and as such, may be recoverable by a professional computer forensics examiner.

Tile expert witnesses at Ceramic Tile and Stone Consultants write in the Ceramic Tile & Stone Industry News:

The substrate is the foundation of a ceramic tile or stone installation. When this foundation is unsuitable for whatever reason, then the products applied on top are automatically in jeopardy. 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.

Compounded by the shortage of qualified installers, most ceramic tile and stone (Tile & Stone) floor failures are related to the lack of proper floor preparation. These floors are only as good as the substrate to which they are applied and the method of installation used. Substrate preparation, in turn, will determine whether a particular substrate is adequate for the intended use.

In Medical legal issues in the prevention of prematurity, neonatology experts DE Seubert, WM Huang, and R Wasserman-Hoff of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University write:

Preterm birth remains the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the world today. This article discusses ways the treatment team can inform parents of probable outcomes and help them reach decisions about treatment for the newborn under emotionally fraught conditions. In addition to supporting the patient, these approaches may help the clinician avoid malpractice litigation.

For more, see pubmed.gov.

In A Forensic Psychologist’s Report In A Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment And Retaliation Case forensic psychology expert witness Stephen Reich, Ph.D., writes on the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from DSM-IV 309.81, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, the American Psychiatric Association. (See 5/5/10 entry for part 1).

(C) Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by the following:

1. efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma 2. efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma 3. inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma 4. markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities 5. feeling of detachment or estrangement from others 6. restricted range of affect 7. sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, or a normal life span)

Process service expert witnesses may opine regarding the process server’s work product. The National Association of Professional Process Servers writes:

Process Server’s Work Product The work product of a professional process server is the proof or affidavit of service submitted by that person attesting to the fact that a particular person or entity was given legal process in a manner prescribed by law. The proof or affidavit of service is what the courts rely upon to determine whether jurisdiction has been acquired over a particular person, entity, or property. The proof or affidavit of service must be beyond reproach.

In Using Marketing, Business & Competitive Research to Win Cases, sales expert witness Don Smith writes that the keys to the selection and use of marketing research professionals include:

1. Define the hypothesis and the information required to win the case. This guides you in the selection of your researcher and keeps the research focused and affordable.

2. Define key words that define the background and experience you require from your researcher. Such fine-tuning is now possible through the use of ExpertLaw.com’s search capability.

Physics expert witness Louis A. Bloomfield, Professor of Physics at the University of Virginia, answers the question “What is the difference between spark ignition engines and diesel engines?”

Just before burning their fuels, both engines compress air inside a sealed cylinder. This compression process adds energy to the air and causes its temperature to skyrocket. In a spark ignition engine, the air that’s being compressed already contains fuel so this rising temperature is a potential problem. If the fuel and air ignite spontaneously, the engine will “knock” and won’t operate at maximum efficiency. The fuel and air mixture is expected to wait until it’s ignited at the proper instant by the spark plug. That’s why gasoline is formulated to resist ignition below a certain temperature. The higher the “octane” of the gasoline, the higher its certified ignition temperature. Virtually all modern cars operate properly with regular gasoline. Nonetheless, people frequently put high-octane (high-test or premium) gasoline in their cars under the mistaken impression that their cars will be better for it. If your car doesn’t knock significantly with regular gasoline, use regular gasoline.

A diesel engine doesn’t have spark ignition. Instead, it uses the high temperature caused by extreme compression to ignite its fuel. It compresses pure air to high temperature and pressure, and then injects fuel into this air. Timed to arrive at the proper instant, the fuel bursts into flames and burns quickly in the superheated compressed air. In contrast to gasoline, diesel fuel is formulated to ignite easily as soon as it enters hot air.