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Ladders and scaffolds expert witnesses at Technology Associates write on stepladder instability:

According to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) accident estimates, tens of thousands of stepladder accidents requiring emergency room treatment occurred annually in the United States. Approximately 85-90% of these accidents involve the user falling from the ladder and 8-9% of these injuries are serious enough to require that the victim be admitted to a hospital. In addition to posing a severe health concern, these accidents have significant loss-of-wages and high medical expense implications.

Having investigated numerous stepladder falls over the years, we have found it very common to learn that ladder accident victims are unaware of the cause of their falls and it is typical for them to respond to questions regarding causation with answers such as: “The ladder just gave way”, or “It was sudden, I don’t know what happened”, or equivalent statements. One possible cause of such accidents is associated with use of the common four legged A-shaped stepladder, which can easily be accidentally positioned such that only three of its legs are contacting the ground. This situation can also go unperceived until it is too late to avoid an accident.

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Seat belt and airbag expert witnesses at Technology Associates describe “whiplash”:

What is the syndrome called “whiplash”? Here is a brief description. A stopped car is struck by another vehicle from behind; the struck car and torsos of its passengers are thrown forward. However, the heads of the passengers lag behind for a fraction of a second, causing their necks to be hyper-extended (unduly strained as the torso flies forward while the head stays behind). As their torsos rebound against the seat backs, their heads now move forward, but are snapped back again, by their necks, and overshoot the torso, again causing the neck to be hyper-extended. This effect is most severe if the headrests are too low and set too far back, as they are in many cars. The whole occurrence takes less then a second.

Although the person experiencing this situation does not have overt signs of injury, the possible occurrence of soft tissue damage to the overstretched ligaments of the neck has been well documented. This damage may be permanent, causing chronic pain and limitation in neck movement, the full extent of which may not be apparent until about a day after the accident.

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Siobhan Reynolds, president of the Santa Fe, N.M.-based Pain Relief Network, is being investigated by a federal grand jury in Topeka for her role in the case of a Kansas doctor whose clinic has been linked by prosecutors to 59 overdose deaths. Reynolds’ group has supported Dr. Stephen Schneider and his wife, Linda, who were indicted in December 2007 on 34 counts accusing them of unlawfully prescribing painkillers and over billing for services at their clinic in the Wichita suburb of Haysville.

The Pain Relief Network, which opposes what it sees as federal efforts to crack down on chronic pain treatment, has helped the Schneiders line up attorneys and pain expert witnesses, and has put up billboards supporting them.

Excerpted from KansasCity.com.

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The Arizona Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded the high-profile case of Harold Fish, who’s serving time for shooting a man in what he calls self-defense. The new trial will allow Fish to introduce testimony that was barred from his first case in which the state disallowed Fish from having a psychology expert witness testify that his “fight or flight” instinct could have interfered with his memory.

The case began in 2004, after Fish ran into Grant Kuenzli and his dogs while hiking on a lonely trail in northern Arizona. According to Fish, the only witness, Kuenzli charged aggressively at Fish after failing to control his unleashed canines. Fish pointed a his 10-millimeter handgun at Kuenzli, yelled at him to stop, and then fired three shots that hit the man in the chest.

Excerpted from PhoenixNewTimes.com.

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A $3 million study blaming a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee on a complex combination of structural and geologic factors is wrong, says an engineering expert witness who evaluated the disaster for his own mining and utility clients. Though no one was injured, the disaster was one of the worst of its kind in the US and has brought new attention to the risks and lack of regulation of coal ash storage sites around the country. TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, estimates it could take years and up to $1 billion to clean up the mess. Residents fear lingering environmental harm.

Barry Thacker, who has been designing hydraulic-fill structures similar to the Kingston Fossil Plant landfill for 30 years. In a report shared with regulators, the expert witness concludes the Dec. 22 breach that sent 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic-laden muck into the Emory River and a lakeside neighborhood about 40 miles west of Knoxville occurred because of an undiagnosed and preventable buildup of water pressure against a perimeter clay dike.

Thacker doesn’t agree with the more exotic conclusion of Tennessee Valley Authority consultant AECOM USA Inc. last month that the spill was due to several factors in and under a mountainous dredge cell upstream of the dike, including liquifying soils and a deep, unknown, unstable layer of silt and ash dubbed “slimes.”

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In Virginia last week Ben W. Hunter, 42, now of Phoenix, Ariz., was found not guilty on all but two of 32 charges which included 13 counts of distributing steroids and 13 counts of distributing drugs to a minor. The former wrestling coach had also been charged with selling drugs on or near school property, distributing drugs and abuse and neglect of a child. Dr. James Shipe, a researcher in athletic drug testing at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, was called as a drug abuse expert witness in the case.

“Traditionally, testing originated for Olympic athletes,” the expert witness explained after the case. “All tests were developed using a witnessed urine test as the specimen” because, he added, some athletes from various countries had religious or moral protests to drawing blood samples.

Hunter faces sentencing for one felony count of failure to appear and one misdemeanor county of failure to appear on October 30 in Lancaster County Circuit Court. His attorney, James Broccoletti of Norfolk, requested a pre-sentencing report be prepared for the hearing.

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In How Long An Arm? automotive expert witness Richard O. Neville writes:

Can a state law prohibiting direct sales to consumers by a manufacturer have an extra-territorial reach into another state? The Fourth Circuit has said it cannot. The case involved a Volvo and GM truck dealer, Carolina Trucks & Equipment, Inc. (CT&E) which found itself in an out-of-trust situation in 2002 with its floor plan lender, Volvo Commercial Finance (VCF). Later, after termination of its dealer agreement, the dealer settled with VCF. It had also sued Volvo Trucks North America, the manufacturer; one of its complaints was that VTNA was selling used trucks direct through its Arrow Truck Sales unit (although specifically permitted by its dealer agreement)….

The court quoted from the Dealers Act: a manufacturer “may not sell, directly or indirectly, a motor vehicle to a consumer in this State”2 except through the franchises that manufacturers are generally prohibited from owning themselves. Commenting on the ambiguity of the phrase “in this state,” the court did not find that it gave the state’s laws extraterritorial reach, and that “…state laws may not generally operate extraterritorially…” To find otherwise, the court went on, would raise constitutional Commerce Clause issues. Arrow’s advertising, the court held, was an “even more tenuous link between South Carolina and Arrow’s sales in Atlanta…” To find otherwise would be to ban out-of-state advertising of goods and services.

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David Tuffin of the firm Tuffin, Ferraby, & Taylor writes In my expert opinion: How to pick an expert witness

Expert witnesses can make or break a case, so it’s vital to pick exactly the right (independent, knowledgeable and impressive) person for the job. With the construction industry seeing a significant rise in litigation and conflict there is going to be an increase in demand for reliable expert witnesses called in by lawyers to either help defend or support their clients’ cases.

The biggest challenge facing those selecting an expert witness is how to ensure that the person they call upon is going to help and not hinder the case. Often the evidence the expert provides can make or break a case and therefore choosing the right person is of utmost importance.

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A Maryland state psychiatry expert witness believes Victoria Adele Sparrow knew what she was doing was wrong and is therefore guilty of first-degree murder when she poisoned her 3-year-old daughter and then tried to kill herself. Psychiatric experts – one employed by the state and the other hired by the defense – are set to testify on July 20 in Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court in Centreville. They will be the only witnesses, attorneys said. Sparrow, 43, waived her right to a jury trial Tuesday and agreed to let Judge Thomas G. Ross determine if she was “criminally responsible” for her actions inside her home on Dec. 18.

Defense attorney Peter S. O’Neill filed a motion earlier this year claiming his client was not fit to stand trial. He hired a medical expert who determined that Sparrow would be able to assist in her defense. That expert, however, did not believe Sparrow was sane at the time of the killing. Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Lance Richardson said a state psychiatrist does not agree with the defense’s medical expert.

Excerpted from HometownAnnapolis.com.

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On Wednesday, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge threw out a $2 million judgment that a 19th Judicial District Court jury had awarded former UL football coach Jerry Baldwin in 2007. In that case, Baldwin claimed racial discrimination by the university, the UL Board of Supervisors and former athletic director Nelson Schexnayder for his firing after the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 2001 season.

Baldwin claimed breach of contract, discrimination and emotional distress, and the racially-balanced jury – six white, six black – voted 10-2 to award Baldwin $500,000 for general damages and emotional distress, $600,000 for lost wages and $900,000 for future lost wages. The jury heard from the plaintiff’s sports expert witness who said Baldwin’s firing cost him the chance to coach professionally in the NFL, and hence the $900,000 award for future lost wages.

Excerpted from NewOrleans.com.