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Dr. Mark Levy, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and ADA expert writes:

Assessing the Truth: How Forensic Psychiatrists and Psychologists Evaluate Litigants

Forensic psychiatrists and psychologists are mental health professional who have undergone addition training and have obtained advanced credentials in forensic psychiatry and psychology from their respective professional certifying boards. Their practice, like the practice of law, is divided into broad criminal and civil areas. In the criminal arena, forensic psychiatric and psychological experts are usually asked to opine about questions of capacity and sometimes, during sentencing, on mitigation. In the civil arena, forensic practice is more broad, covering, like your Bar Association does, many individual sections of legal practice, from probate to personal injury to family to employment law.

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1. Use a written agreement. If possible, specify a limit the expert cannot go over without your approval.

2. Expert fees will include travel time, travel expenses, and preparation.

3. Note that the expert’s fee for testimony may be higher than for reviewing a file and that the rate for appearing in court is usually per diem.

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A Kauai grand jury indicted retired auto dealer Jimmy Pflueger last week on seven counts of criminal manslaughter in connection with the 2006 Kaloko Dam collapse that killed seven people on Kauai’s North Shore. Pflueger is accused of altering an earthen dam that led to the breach on March 14, 2006, which sent floodwaters rushing down Wailapa Stream. The flood tore several homes off their foundations and washed away seven victims as they slept.

Lawyers said they have photos and witnesses to show Pflueger blocked a spillway for excess water even though he was warned not to. Pflueger testified he was aware that there was seepage through the Kaloko Dam and “that is a very major problem according to our experts,” said attorney Rick Fried. Earlier this year a dam expert said that the state should appoint an inspection team to evaluate dams so people living downstream know what the risks are.

For more, see BirminghamBusinessJournal.com.

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Allan Snyder, mold expert witness and principal of AFC Forensic Consulting, answers Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What is Stachybotrys Chartarum?

A: Stachybotrys Chartarum (also known as Stachybotrys atra) is a type of mold that has been associated with adverse health effects in humans. Stachybotrys is a greenish-black mold that can grow on materials with a high cellulose content, such as drywall, ceiling tiles, and carpeting/padding that become chronically moist, or water-damaged, due to water leaks, or flooding.

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A reminder from expert witness marketing consultant, strategist & coach Rosalie Hamilton:

Expert Witness Websites – Contact Info?

I hate to bring this up again, but — please include contact information on your website! I had a friend contact me recently for help in finding an expert witness in a particular area of expertise. I found four and went to their websites. Two (TWO of the four!) had NO contact information whatsoever. One had a “Contact” form with several lines of required information. Only one had a phone number, address, and email listed.

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In Determining When Your Medical Malpractice Case Has Merit, expert witness Barry E. Gustin, MD, MPH, FAAEM, and primary founder of the American College of Forensic Medicine, writes on strategy in medical negligence cases.

To summarize … consider not taking medical negligence cases in the following instances:

6. The defendant is a well-known and highly respected physician that most reputable medical experts refuse to testify against. It will be very difficult to find an appropriate expert; and even if one is found, because of the defendant’s standing in the medical community, it may be more difficult to obtain a judgment against him. Also, if the procedure, treatment, or medical subspecialty is rare, then it will be very difficult finding a medical expert witness to testify.

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The Massashusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board opened hearings on Wednesday into the request by Cape Win Associates LLC for a composite permit for transmission lines that carry approvals on five state and four local permits. If Cape Wind secures the remaining permits and the almost inevitable legal challenge, the company will get to build its 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

The composite permit, if approved by the siting board, would allow the long-delayed wind turbine project to collapse whatever further wait is involved in obtaining the state and local permits.The company presented two expert witnesses: Craig Olmsted, the vice president for project development at Energy Management Corp. and the Cape Wind project manager, and Christopher Rein, senior vice president and principal of ESS Group, the lead environmental consultant on the wind farm project.

Excerpted from CapeCodToday.

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In Determining When Your Medical Malpractice Case Has Merit, expert witness Barry E. Gustin, MD, MPH, FAAEM, and primary founder of the American College of Forensic Medicine, writes on strategy in medical negligence cases.

To summarize … consider not taking medical negligence cases in the following instances:

1. The medical issues are complex. The more complex the medical issues, the more difficult it will be to convince the jury that the doctor committed malpractice. If a case involves multiple physicians, some of whom committed no negligent acts, it may be exceedingly difficult to separate out the truly negligent care. Jurors may view this kind of lawsuit as an unwarranted attack on everyone. Plus the more doctors who are involved, the more costly the undertaking, in terms of obtaining more medical experts.

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Former paratroopers argued before New York Justice Henry Kron this week that Specialist Osvaldo Hernandez deserved to have his civil rights restored. Hernandez served a year on Rikers Island for illegal gun possession before joining the Army and serving a 15-month tour in Afghanistan. Hernandez hopes to join the New York police force.

His lawyer, James D. Harmon Jr., a former prosecutor who served in Vietnam and their expert witness, Randy Jergensen, a retired New York police detective who parachuted into battle in Korea, testified on behalf of Hernanez. They believe that his service in the army and certificate of good conduct from the parole board remove any legal barriers to Mr. Hernandez’s joining the police force. The decision is now up to police officials, who have said that the city’s administrative code forbids hiring anyone with a felony conviction as a police officer.

Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick of the Army Recruiting Command says the Army has accepted 372 felons this year as of October 10, down from 511 last year. A recent military study showed that such recruits were promoted faster, were more likely to re-enlist, and received more awards.

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