In Why a Medical Expert Witness Can Make or Break a Case, pulmonary medicine expert witness Dr. John Penek, MD, FCCP, FAASM, writes:
Whether the court case is civil or criminal in nature, both plaintiffs and defendants can benefit from the use of a medical expert witness. This is especially true in an era where forensic technology is growing by leaps and bounds.
Just what can a medical experts offer in the realm of traditional jurisprudence?
In Expert Witness Fees Deferred Until Settlement of Case, Carson Nash Funding, Inc. explains how their company provides funding to expert witnesses that allows trial lawyers the ability to defer payment of expert witness expenses until their cases settle.
Expert witness expenses are one of the largest and most significant expenditures a trial attorney has to make. All case expenses are paid up front as the case progresses and trial lawyers are not compensated until the case settles.
Expert witness fees plus additional case expenses and practice overhead expenses create restricted budgets for trial lawyers and may limit their ability to accept new cases to expand their practice.
Child abuse expert witnesses are prepared to advise regarding child abuse and neglect, and the physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children. A child abuse expert will testify this week in the Saline County, KS, case against Troy Love. Love is accused of first degree murder and child abuse in the death of Bre’Elle Jefferson. Defense attorney Roger Struble, of Blackwell, Blackwell and Struble, says the expert will show that the child’s injuries were accidental.
Kansas 28th Judicial District information: http://www.kscourts.org/districts/District-Info.asp?d=28
Transportation expert witnesses may provide expert witness testimony on transportation technology, transportation safety, railroad accident investigation, railroads, and more. In the news, The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to investigate the Metro North passenger train accident in New York City. The train derailed in the Bronx, killing four.
NTSB Rail Safety Investigator Mike Flanigon will lead a team of specialists in track, signals, mechanical systems, operations, human performance, etc. The NTSB website offers statistics on transportation fatalities. In 2011, rail fatalities accounted for 759 of the total 34,434. The NTSB case decisions database may be found here: http://www.ntsb.gov/legal/o_n_o/query.aspx
In It Takes More Than Common Sense, construction site expert witness William Gulya, Jr., President & CEO, Middlesex Trenching Company, writes:
The primary purpose of expert witness testimony is to assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence and/or determining a fact issue. A trial judge therefore has the duty and responsibility to ensure that an expert has specialized knowledge and their testimony will be applicable in assisting the trier of fact relevant to the case at hand.
The plaintiff in a recent Federal Maritime case alleged he tripped on a two-inch line on the vessel’s deck and sustained injuries. The plaintiff asserted an un-seaworthiness claim against defendant and sought damages for, among other things, lost earnings and impairment of his earning capacity.
Accident investigation expert witnesses may provide reports concerning crash investigations, distracted drivers, and skid mark analysis. Statistics in the US suggest that distraction contributes to 16% of all fatal crashes. AAA tells us that drivers spend more than half their time focused on things other than driving, e.g. eating, attending to children, and music devices, etc. At Malman Law.com, personal injury lawyers write on how to prove texting and driving, including:
Even if a cautious cell phone user deletes their text messages, law enforcement officials can contact the user’s mobile service provider and view the timestamps for any text messages sent or received. Many auto accident lawyers have been able to use cell phone records to prove that a driver was using their phone during an accident.
Read more: http://www.malmanlaw.com/
Demonstrative evidence expert witnesses may consult on courtroom exhibits, computer reconstruction, computer animation, forensic animation, and simulations. While demonstrative evidence is not real evidence, it illuminates the points being argued in court. In How to Build the Visual Foundation of Your Case, attorney Morgan Smith describes how to create simple yet effective graphics. Mr. Smith recently gave a presentation for the Melvin Belli seminar on trial practices, hosted by the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association. He advises:
Start creating graphics to build the visual foundation of your case before the first depo is taken, so that you can go to depositions with a basic to-scale visual diagram of the incident scene. Then witnesses and experts can add in details.
Cogent Legal Blog, shares real-world advice about trial graphics, case presentations, legal tech and litigation strategy. “We blog to help attorneys make their case and manage their practice in the most effective and least stressful way possible. Who are we? Litigators like you.” Cogent Legal was voted “the best presentation provider” in Northern California for 2013 in The Recorder’s annual poll of law firms and legal services.
DNA expert witness Dr. Mark W. Perlin testified in Beaver County, PA, in the 1979 cold case against Gregory Scott Hopkins. The murder case against Hopkins in the death of his girlfriend Catherine Janet Walsh was reopened due to modern DNA technology. Perlin testified regarding DNA evidence at the scene which connected Hopkins to her murder thirty years ago.
Dr. Perlin is CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at Cybergenetics, and the creator of the TrueAllele® technology. Cybergenetics interprets complex DNA evidence using computers to preserve information inherent in the data, and can extract identification information almost every time. DNA testing was originally developed as a method of determining paternity. It now plays a role in the criminal investigation process and is allowed in post-conviction DNA testing to exonerate those who may have been falsely sentenced.
In Avoid This Expert Report Writing Error, construction site expert witness William Gulya, Jr., President & CEO, Middlesex Trenching Company, writes:
As an experienced expert report writer and testifying expert I recommend that attorneys make sure their expert avoids this common expert report writing error.
It is vital that an expert investigate and study the evidence without predisposition. I often read the reports of other experts, in which I see a section labeled “Objective”. In this section I see statements such as:
Juvenile justice system expert witness Paul DeMuro testified in a Polk County, FL, federal trial over the constitutional rights of juveniles at the Polk County jail and the conditions under which they are held. Representing the Southern Poverty Law Center in a class action suit, DeMuro described conditions at the jail, including the use of pepper spray and inadequate supervision. A security camera captured a young detainee being punched and kicked by fellow cellmates and then Polk County deputies spraying them with pepper spray.
Mr. DeMuro has over forty-one years experience working on juvenile justice and child welfare issues. He serves as a senior consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and to the National Juvenile Detention Association.
