Expert Witness Blog

In Cutting Corners, forensic pathology expert witness Dr. Judy Melinek answers the question “Is it common for coroners or forensic pathologists to cut corners in a death investigation if a case does not look like foul play was involved?”

Several visitors to this blog have asked me this question recently, as part of their research into forensic science. Usually those inquiring have had direct contact with a Medical Examiner’s or Coroner’s Office – and did not find that institution particularly forthcoming. Office policies require death investigators to be careful about divulging information on open cases, and sometimes cases can be “pending” for several months while the pathologist awaits toxicology reports, microscopic slides, scene investigation or incident reports. This can be frustrating and even infuriating to the deceased’s family members. They are the ones who have to plan the funeral, and answer inquires while dealing with their own feelings of grief and even guilt about the death while the case is still “pending additional examination.” The law allows you to bury a body with a death certificate that says “pending” under “cause of death,” but that is cold comfort to the family which has to tackle the inevitable question – “What happened?” – over and over again. A death certificate that says “Hanging” and “Suicide” may not be welcome, but it is an answer.

Coroners and forensic pathologists are two different groups of people. Coroner’s deputies are death investigators (often part of a law enforcement agency, like a sheriff’s office) while forensic pathologists are the doctors who do the autopsies. Both can “cut corners,” yes – but in different ways. A Coroner’s deputy might cut corners by not visiting the scene; by not examining the scene thoroughly, either in order to save time or because they are tired (many death investigations are at ungodly hours); by trusting the reports of the people at the scene about what happened without confirming whether those reports are accurate. The death investigation doesn’t end when the deputy returns to the office and writes up the case. Frequently they have to complete their investigation, or ask others to, by getting medical records, police reports or questioning other witnesses who were not at the scene when they picked up the body.

In Defining the Chiropractic Standard Of Care, chiropractic expert witness Richard K. Skala, D.C., writes:

IS THERE A LEGAL DEFINITION OF THE CHIROPRACTIC STANDARD OF CARE?

Based on the definitions above, as well as my medical legal experience, the chiropractic standard of care can be summed up as follows:

Arbitration and mediation expert witnesses may consult on American Arbitration Association rules, binding arbitration, nonbinding arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution. On June 16, 2014, the American Arbitration Association released new rules on construction disputes.

NEW AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION SUPPLEMENTARY RULES ENABLE PREDICTABLE TIME-AND-COST CONSTRUCTION ARBITRATION June 16, 2014 Parties involved in construction disputes now have the option of selecting supplementary rules that will limit the cost and duration of their arbitration proceedings. The new supplementary rules developed by the American Arbitration Association (AAA®) took effect on June 15, 2014.

Working with its National Construction Dispute Resolution Committee (NCDRC), the AAA created new Supplementary Rules for Fixed Time and Cost Construction Arbitration that will allow parties to calculate the maximum time to complete the arbitration, the number of hearing days, and the arbitrator costs. For example, for cases in the $250,000 to $500,000 range, the rules prescribe a maximum of 180 days from filing to award, with no more than three hearing days. Arbitrator compensation for hearing days and study time (limited to 12 hours) is capped at $275 an hour. Administrative fees to the AAA are fixed at $5,000.

In Preventing Damaging Effects of Asset Misappropriation

In Forensic Handwriting Analysis – Expert Introduction to Handwriting Analysis, documents and handwriting expert witness Mark Songer writes that “the science of handwriting analysis is based on the premise that no two individuals can produce exactly the same writing and that an individual cannot exactly reproduce his own handwriting, otherwise known as variation. Variations are natural deviations that occur in a person’s handwriting.”

The first step is to analyze the known writing sample and the unknown writing sample for distinctive characteristics. The examiner looks for unique qualities such as letters and word spacing, letter and word slant, size and proportional-ity of letters, unusual formations of letters, flourishes, and other individual attributes.

2) Comparison The next step is to differentiate elements from the known sample to those of the unknown sample. The examiner considers spelling, grammar, punctuation, and phraseology as well.

Child abuse expert witnesses may advise regarding child abuse and neglect, including the physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children. On its website, the Child Welfare Information Gateway describes the process of proving child maltreatment in court. CWIG is a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Proving Child Maltreatment in Court…

Relevant and Material Evidence To be usable in court, evidence must be material and relevant. Evidence is material when it has a logical connection to any of the issues that need to be proved in the case. It should be clear from a particular State’s law exactly what must be proved. For example, whether a parent cheated on his/her income taxes would be immaterial to any issue in a child abuse case. Evidence will be relevant when it increases the likelihood that a particular fact in question occurred. For example, the fact that, prior to the incident in question, the parent failed to provide his/her child with adequate medical care is irrelevant to the question of whether he/she molested that child. Evidence must also be competent. This means that the evidence does not violate any rules of evidence and is not more prejudicial (unfairly harmful or beneficial) than it is probative (tending to prove or disprove) on any given issue.

Business expert witnesses may consult on executive management, corporate governance, director duties, and related matters. In the news, Barclays may pay as much as $2B billion in litigation costs and penalties due to litigation filed by New York’s attorney general. This follows 2012 penalties of $450M paid to the US and Britain after conceding that the banks employees manipulated global benchmark interest rates.

On June 25, 2014, New York’s attorney general Eric Schneiderman filed civil fraud charges in the New York Supreme Court, County of New York, alleging that Barclay’s private stock trading platform favored high frequency traders.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK By ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN, Attorney General of the State of New York,

What areas of transportation may bus may bus safety expert witnesses consult on? These experts may report and testify on bus accidents, motor carriers, D.O.T. compliance, and more. In the news, eighteen people were hospitalized when a passenger car struck a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus on August 12. An MBTA spokesman said the driver of the car turned into the bus and may have been under the influence of drugs.

On its website, the MBTA offers safety instructions created through a partnership with the MBTA, the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay, the Federal Transit Administration, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently proposed a new federal motor vehicle safety standard to protect motorcoach and other large bus passengers in rollover crashes.The proposal aims to improve the structural design of large buses to ensure that passengers are better protected in a deadly vehicle rollover by ensuring that the space around them remains sufficiently intact and the emergency exits remain operable.

Both the proposed test procedure and performance requirements are closely modeled after the European regulations for large buses. In a separate rulemaking action to improve safety even further, the Department is planning on finalizing requirements later this year for stability control technologies in these vehicles, which would help prevent rollovers from occurring.