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In WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE, medical expert witness C. Paul Sinkhorn, MD, FACOG, writes that with the internet, patients have the opportunity to become experts on certain diseases, particularly their own. Tom Ferguson, editor of The Ferguson Report: The Newsletter of Online Health, observes, “A doctor may have a working knowledge of 50 conditions and be able to treat, with some consultation, another 200. A patient only needs to know about one.”

We will be challenged to keep up with our patients’ questions like never before. Sometimes I am relentlessly cross-examined by these Internet-empowered patients. While pleased that they take responsibility for their health care, and remembering the intoxication of newly acquired wisdom, I deplore pop knowledge masquerading as legitimate medical tenet. Internet armed patients’ cutting-edge knowledge creates loftier expectations. Every attorney with Internet access can research all relevant medical literature on a potential medical malpractice case in less than an hour, including multiple medical expert witnesses‘ opinions and immediate analysis of strengths and weaknesses. There’s nothing wrong with that, and medical expert witnesses should welcome better prepared.

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In Basic Characteristics And “Life” of Residential Mortgage Loans mortgages expert witness J. F. “Chip” Morrow writes:

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) provider provides insurance protecting the mortgage investors against financial loss occasioned by a borrower defaulting on the mortgage loan. PMI insurance is required for any loan with a loan-to-value of higher than 80%. The PMI provider can either underwrite each loan itself or delegate this responsibility to the mortgage banker/underwriter. The PMI provider has no direct relationship with the borrower or the mortgage broker. The PMI provider relies on the mortgage banker who in turn relies on the mortgage broker for information for underwrite. In this instance, the underwriting of the PMI insurance underwriting was delegated to the mortgage banker, which further enhances the need for the PMI provider to be able to rely on the mortgage banker to ensure that the loan is properly underwritten.

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Sports medicine expert witnesses warn that the person you entrust your body may have little or no training in exercise science and physiology. “It’s scary,” says Walter Thompson, professor of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University in Atlanta. “My gosh, they license my haircutter, why not the person making me push 200 pounds over my head?” Both Thompson and Marc Rabinoff, chairman of the department of human performance at Denver’s Metropolitan State College, have seen cringe-worthy bodily damage in their roles as in personal-trainer injury cases.

“I’ve seen people permanently disabled by trainers,” Thompson says. “One case I did was when a personal trainer had someone exercise with one muscle group too much, and that person wound up in intensive care with rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown that leads to kidney failure). I’m seeing that more and more when I testify in court. People are getting hurt.”

Excerpted from TheSacramentoBee.

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In Art Is For All: A Brief Look At Art Collecting Through The Ages, personal property valuation expert witness and owner of Thomas Charles Editions of Phoenix, AZ, Lisa A. Barnes, writes on how art is valued:

Conventional wisdom has it that all areas of art collecting can occasionally suffer eclipses but eventually return to favor. From the collector’s point of view, the theoretical solution has always been simply to buy “good art,” works that will transcend the whims of fashion and stand the tests of time. This lead us to the inevitable questions; what makes art good, and who gets to decide? It is probably safe to say that technical achievement in art will always be valued, and will always be rediscovered. Beyond that, there is only educated opinion – and it is constantly changing.

There are simply no eternal verities in art. A Rembrandt may be worth more than a Murillo, yet prices for works by Old Masters, however rare their appearance on the market, have lagged behind Contemporary American artists and the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. During the 1980’s, a Jackson Pollock sold for more than a Rembrandt or a Leonardo Da Vinci. In 1986, a single Jasper Johns, “Out the Window,” painted in 1959, sold for $3.63 million, the exact same amount as Da Vinci’s “Lamb,” one of two authenticated works still in private hands. It was private buyers that changed the rules…

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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has become an important tool for hydrology and groundwater expert witnesses. An especially useful application of GIS concerns water quality in groundwater. In the case of groundwater contamination and the need for subsequent containment and cleanup of the contaminant, an existing framework of the groundwater system would be valuable in planning remediation measures.

An example concerning the use of GIS addresses a common problem associated with groundwater pumping and land subsidence or intrusion in coastal areas. Areas that have been overpumped of groundwater can subside, and when near the sea, this may invite flooding. Also, overpumping of groundwater in coastal regions may bring a different problem, such as the case in California where salt-water intrusion has compromised the aquifer. Generally, a salt water interface inland of the coast extends below the land surface dependent on the distance from the coast. Overpumping can bring the salt water interface to a higher position and contaminate an aquifer.

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In Robertson v. Princeton, descendants of donor Marie Robertson and her husband, Princeton class of 1926 alumnus Charles Robertson, sued Princeton University to redirect the funds she gave to create the Robertson Foundation for the benefit of Princeton University in 1961. Princeton estimates that it spent more than $40 million in pre-trial costs and that a trial and appeal will cost an additional $20 million for both sides.

Princeton produced nearly half a million pages of electronic and print documents in the discovery phase of the case. Finance expert witnesses gave reports and there were more than 5,000 trial exhibits identified. The University’s defense costs not covered by insurance, will be reimbursed by the Robertson Foundation.

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Hydrology and groundwater expert witnesses can tell you that about ¼ of the water used for personal, commercial/industrial, and irrigation uses in the U.S. comes from groundwater. With increasing demands placed on surface water resources, it is likely the demand for groundwater will increase.

In some places, this resource has already been severely tapped, and even mismanaged. An example is the surface water decline in the Republican River watershed of Nebraska and Kansas where over-pumping of groundwater for irrigation in Nebraska has depleted surface water available for downstream flow and use in Kansas resulting in a lawsuit. The State of Kansas filed a complaint to the U.S. Supreme Court that claimed the State of Nebraska had violated the Republican River Compact by allowing the unimpeded development of thousands of wells in hydraulic connection with the Republican River and its tributaries. Kansas further alleged that Nebraska was using more water than its allocation.

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In Speaking English is Key to Safety construction safety expert witness Paul Gogulski, BSCE, PE, writes:

As an expert witness specializing in construction accidents, my observations include a very sensitive subject: the increased risk of accidents when a substantial number of workers on a site cannot speak the English language. Every general contractor knows the truth but few dare to openly express it: the more non-English speaking workers employed on site, the greater the risk of errors and accidents. Even when a requirement for English-speaking foremen is included in the contract, this in itself is not enough to prevent accidents attributable to the hazards created by the barriers imposed by inadequate communication…

Effective communication is a key ingredient of every construction project and is particularly vital in regard to safety issues. Practically speaking, the current policy of promoting bilingual languages as a social-engineering enterprise across a broad spectrum of the nation has a negative impact on the frequency of accidents in the construction industry. The many recent deaths in Las Vegas construction is a grim demonstration of this fact.

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In What is Forensic Psychiatry?, forensic psychiatry expert witness Dr. Jerald H. Ratner, M.D., L.F.A.P.A., F.A.B.F.E., describes the role of the forensic psychiatrist:

A psychiatrist with forensic expertise can assist attorneys, federal agencies, plaintiffs, defendants, and the courts to evaluate claims for psychiatric damages, disability and competency.

A psychiatrist with forensic experience is a physician who integrates clinical experience, knowledge of medicine, mental health, and the neurosciences to form an independent, objective opinion. Relevant data is gathered, analyzed and synthesized as part of a process of alternative hypothesis testing to formulate an expert medical/psychiatric opinion. The expert opinion is fortified and validated by a psychiatrist who maintains a predominantly clinical practice (i.e., evaluates and treats patients on a continuous and active basis).

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In How to Create a Marketing Strategy, marketing expert witness Steven Londre gives sound advice:

In creating a marketing strategy, divide markets into meaningful customer groups (market segmentation), choose which customer groups to serve (target marketing), and create marketing offers that best serve targeted customers (positioning)…

Here’s a recommendation: Make your marketing, advertising and promotion different than your competitors. Be unique with your product mix. Successfully position your product by looking at product attributes, benefits, quality/price, high tech and high touch. And remember your target customer. Customer service is far more important than most marketing consultants give it credit. Company and brand positioning should be summed up in a positioning statement. The statement should follow this form: To (target market and need) our (brand or store or service) is (concept) that (point of difference).

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