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Medical expert witnesses at Medical Opinions Associates write on tort reform:

Defensive medicine is the hardest to deal with because its impact is difficult to calculate. There is no doubt that there are more medical tests being ordered for fear of medical liability then there would be otherwise. The question is what is the impact. Nobody really knows (GAO 03-836). We do know that medical insurance costs average about 3.2% of average physician revenues. We also know that 5.5% of physicians cause 57.3% of all medical malpractice payouts to patients. Do we approach the problem, as some have suggested, by not interfering with tort claims and instead going after the few transgressors?

Much study still needs to be done, but the end game will not change. As a society, we will have to decide whether we want to prevent or limit the legitimate claims of citizens damaged by medical errors by making it harder to obtain compensation for those errors, or insulate physicians and thus reduce the motivation for defensive medicine in the hope that the cost savings will justify the lost opportunities.

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In When the Phone Rings … Twelve Questions for Prospective Expert Witness Assignments, risk management expert witness Kevin M. Quinley, CPCU, ARM, AIC, writes:

(10) How voluminous are the materials that need to be reviewed? It may matter to you whether the answer is 200 pages or six bankers’ boxes. Again, consider the deadline for submitting expert reports in conjunction with the estimated amount of material to be reviewed. The relationship between these two may impact your interest and ability to take the case, especially if you are stretched thin juggling other commitments. Extensive document review under a tight time frame may impact your willingness to take the case, your ability to devote the needed time to it, and the pricing level you quote for the engagement.

Kevin M. Quinley is a leading authority on insurance issues, including risk management, claims, bad faith, coverages and litigation management. He is the author of more than 600 articles and 10 books. You can reach him through http://www.insuranceexpertnetwork.com/.

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In Are You Ready to Be An Expert Witness? intellectual property expert witness Judd Robbins writes: “The fact is, judges and juries aren’t fond of ‘professional’ expert witnesses, who go from trial to trial as their primary means of support. But they do like working professionals who have an expertise in their fields, who maintain their day jobs, but who also know and understand the legal process.”

Robbins advises professionals who want to get into the expert witness field that they need to become familiar with the three primary ways expert witnesses work with attorneys:

(2 of 3) Assessment — Attorneys will sometimes hire you to assess the technical merits of either or both side’s claims. Your job is to make an objective assessment about the potential strengths or weaknesses of those claims, giving your client the ability to use that information to either prove their case or disprove their opponent’s case.

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In Are You Ready to Be An Expert Witness? computer expert witness Judd Robbins writes: “The fact is, judges and juries aren’t fond of ‘professional’ expert witnesses, who go from trial to trial as their primary means of support. But they do like working professionals who have an expertise in their fields, who maintain their day jobs, but who also know and understand the legal process.”

Robbins advises professionals who want to get into the expert witness field that they need to become familiar with the three primary ways expert witnesses work with attorneys:

(1 of 3) Investigation — As an expert witness, you study the technical details of materials, accidents or other events. You might run tests, create reconstructions, or research books and journals for writings on the same subject matter as your case. Your primary role in the beginning stage of an investigation is to learn the technical facts of the case and to explain to your retaining attorney the application of those facts.

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Medical expert witnesses at Medical Opinions Associates write on tort reform:

Well, then, what about medical malpractice insurance premiums? Premiums have increased and there is no doubt about it. The question is WHY have premiums increased. There are authorities who have looked at this issue and concluded that medical malpractice insurance premiums rise NOT just because of increased frequency of litigation or jury awards, but to compensate for poor insurance company investment returns. Robert Hunter, Insurance Director for the Consumer Federation of America recently pointed this out. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (formerly the U.S. General Accounting Office) has reported this several times, the most relevant being GAO 03-702. GAO reported that multiple factors, including falling investment income and rising reinsurance costs, have contributed to increases in premium rates. In one interesting comparison, the GAO report showed that the premiums insurers charge physicians in different locales have such huge variability that the discrepancy cannot be explained by claims incidence alone. If it is true that other factors contribute to premium increases, then it follows that preventing or limiting medical malpractice awards may not result in corresponding premium decreases.

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Herbal medicine expert witnesses may opine on herbal medicine, acupuncture, and homeopathy. The Alternative Medicine Blog writes:

Many children with cancer use alternative medicine in their treatment, according to a recent research review. For the review, investigators looked at 28 studies with a total of 3,526 participants (all of whom were children). In 20 of those studies, the researchers found that prevalence of complementary/alternative medicine use ranged anywhere from 6 to 91 percent.

Herbal remedies were found to be the most popular modality in the reviewed studies, followed by therapeutic nutrition and faith-healing. Commonly reported reasons for alternative medicine use included the relief of symptoms, as well as support of ongoing use of conventional cancer treatment (such as chemotherapy).

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Alternative medicine expert witnesses may opine on herbal medicine, acupuncture, and homeopathy. Statistics suggest that more Americans are embracing therapies outside of mainstream medicine. In 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 38.3 percent of adults said they used some form of alternative medicine, up from 36 percent five years earlier. Just over 44 percent of people ages 50 to 59 report using complementary medicine.

The lines between conventional and complementary medicine are blurring. Many hospitals and mainstream physicians have adopted these techniques as options for patients. Three examples of such therapies are healing touch, biofeedback and Reiki.

For more, see indystar.com.

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Collection agencies expert witnesses may opine on lender liability, debt, and debt collection standards of practice. In Debt Collection Practices: When Hardball Tactics Go Too Far The Privacy Right Clearinghouse writes:

Debt Collectors and Your Privacy

Public embarrassment and the prospect that your personal information might be shared with others are real concerns when dealing with a collection agency. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act includes provisions intended to safeguard privacy.

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Debt collection standards expert witnesses may opine on debt, collection agents, and debt collection standards of practice. In Debt Collection Practices: When Hardball Tactics Go Too Far, The Privacy Right Clearinghouse writes:

May a debt collector contact my neighbors or family members about my debt?

Not if the collector knows your name and telephone number and could have contacted you directly. When contacting your family members including minors or neighbors to find out how to locate you, the collector:

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Pest control expert witnesses may opine regarding pesticide contamination, insects, and insecticides. Pesticides were in the news last week when federal regulators clamped strong new controls on the pesticide believed to have caused the deaths of 4-year-old Rebecca Toone and her 15-month-old sister Rachel the week after an exterminator fumigated rodent holes outside of their Layton, UT, home.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said aluminum and magnesium phosphide fumigants can no longer be used near homes. The agency also expanded the buffer zones required when using it outdoors and imposed a new requirement for posted warnings when the pesticide has been applied. Dr. Gina Solomon who works for the environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, applauded the EPA’s steps Wednesday. The expert wrote about the tobacco industry’s successful efforts to stymie phosphine restrictions when EPA first proposed tougher standards in 1998. “The announcement today really will increase public safety,” she said, calling the EPA’s actions swift, decisive and “critically important.”

For more, see slttrib.com.