Expert Witness Blog

In The World Trade Center Property Insurance Trial: Lessons Learned?, liability insurance expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

Jurors rendered verdict in favor of ten, and against three of the 13 insurers. Regardless of the verdict, there are no winners in this case. The causes of this litigation could have been avoided and the fact remains that none of the parties to this case are blameless.

However, it is not the purpose of this article to castigate anyone involved in the placement and negotiation process, rather, by highlighting key issues that were the subject of the litigation, it is to identify some of the lessons learned or should be learned and to prompt insurers, brokers and risk managers to reexamine their role and involvement in the insurance placement and negotiation process.

According to the Center for Injury Prevention and Control, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. Most teen accidents can be easily avoided. Insurance experts at CURE Auto Insurance provides the following list of tips for teens and parents to ensure teens stay safe behind the wheel.

3. Don’t drink and drive. Although this seems obvious, according to the NHTSA, teens are at far greater risk of death in an alcohol-related crash than the overall population, despite the fact that they are below the minimum drinking age in every state. Do not get behind the wheel of a vehicle if you have been drinking or get in the car with someone that you suspect has been drinking. This split second decision has changed the lives of millions of teens.

4. Wear your seatbelt. Despite being the most at risk group for accidents, teens also have lower seatbelt use rates than adults. Take charge by letting your friends know when they get into your car you won’t drive until everyone has a seatbelt fastened.

Electrical expert witness David J. Marne, P.E., is the author of McGraw-Hill’s National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®) Handbook. Here he explains the difference between the NESC® and the NEC®:

The National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®) governs the construction, operation, and maintenance of utility lines, substations, and generating plants. It covers both electric power and communication lines from the generating plant to the customer’s meter. The NESC® used primarily by utility employees.

The National Electrical Code® (NEC®) governs the customer’s installation after the meter: homes, factories, industrial facilities, etc. The NEC® is used primarily by homeowners, electrical contractors, and electrical designers.

In The World Trade Center Property Insurance Trial: Lessons Learned?, insurance claims expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

Although this was a complicated and large insurance placement that taxed the world market capacity and there was pressure to complete it to meet the 7/24/01 deadline for the closing of the WTC lease, there is no excuse for the failure of the parties to reach explicit agreement on which form applied when coverage was bound, let alone by 9/11/01, almost two months after binding. By no means was this a unique placement as there are many other large insurance programs just as large and complicated, which must be placed in a relatively short time frame. Undoubtedly, various issues and problems that led to litigation in this case exists in many other instances but will remain hidden absent of a claim and subsequent dispute about coverage.

In HEAD INJURY : WOULD A HELMET HAVE HELPED?, bicycle accidents expert witnesses at Walters Forensic Engineering write:

Brain Injuries
In general, brain injuries caused by impacts are produced by one of two mechanisms. Sudden deceleration is one of these, and in such a case the brain is injured due to its motion inside the head, including collisions with the inside of the skull. The notable feature of this kind of injury is that the brain may suffer serious trauma even where the skull remains undamaged. The other mechanism of brain injury occurs when the skull is cracked or penetrated, in which case brain injury can occur regardless of the level of head acceleration during impact.

In Mold, Housing and Wood, wood products experts at the Western Wood Products Association write:

Poor ventilation and/or air circulation combined with high indoor humidity ­ from showers, cooking or other activities ­ can result in condensation that promotes mold growth on cooler surfaces. Poorly insulated walls may also provide a surface for condensation and mold growth in buildings that do not have general humidity problems.

Surface moisture on unseasoned framing lumber, appearing as the wood dries, may create conditions for mold growth. However, once the moisture content of the wood falls below 20 percent, mold growth can no longer be supported. Depending on the climate, framing lumber will dry to below 20 percent moisture content during the construction and before the building is enclosed.

In Driver Fatigue is the Number One Safety Issue in the Truck and Bus Industry, fatigue expert witness Dennis Wylie writes:

The causes of driver fatigue, fatigue-induced cognitive impairment, driver drowsiness, and the subjective experience of fatigue include:

excessive hours of work inadequate hours of sleep night time driving irregular work-rest schedules

In Apartment Security and Litigation: Key Issues, criminalistics expert witness Daniel B. Kennedy writes on the nature of premises liability litigation in an apartment setting:

When landlords fail to take appropriate security measures to provide their tenants reasonable protection against criminal attack, a negligent tort arises. A tort is a “private or civil wrong or injury” (Black, 1968: 1660). In order to prove a tort, the plaintiff must establish that (1) the defendant owed a duty to provide reasonable security, (2) the defendant breached the duty to provide reasonable security, (3) this breach of duty was the cause in fact, and (4) was the foreseeable cause of (5) the plaintiff’s injury (Spain, 1992). Generally, these elements must be proven to a civil jury who will decide whether a defendant is liable according to the level of proof known as “preponderance of the evidence.” In other words, if a jury determines that 51 percent or more of the evidence favors the plaintiff, he or she will win and the landlord will lose.

In HEAD INJURY : WOULD A HELMET HAVE HELPED?, bicycle expert witnesses at Walters Forensic Engineering write:

Those of us who work in the legal and insurance industries are aware of the benefits gained through use of protective equipment such as seatbelts and helmets. However, when an accident occurs and liability is in issue, the plaintiff who failed to make use of protective equipment will typically argue that the equipment, if used, would not have reduced the injury suffered. These liability determinations are made by the judge or jury, and establishing the necessary causal connection between the injury suffered and equipment used (or not used) is a matter of expert scientific evidence.

Ergonomics expert witness John D. Lloyd, Ph.D., M.Erg.S., C.P.E., writes on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS):

Symptoms of CTS are usually experienced in the region of the hand served by the median nerve. This encompasses the second to forth fingers and base of the thumb on the palmer side, and backs of the first four fingers on the dorsal side.

Acute CTS is often associated with nocturnal pain and tingling, episodic tingling during the workday and gradual numbness, all of which may be encouraged by certain activties such as abnormal postures, or repetitive or forceful hand motions. Symptoms usually diffuse shortly after the activity is changed.