In Get the Most From Engineering Experts, Christopher L. Brinkley writes on how thorough preparation of engineering expert witnesses is the key to winning your case. In this excerpt Brinkley discusses the reliability of the expert witness’s work.
One other aspect of the reliability analysis that frequently arises relates to the concept of engineering judgment. Engineers routinely draw conclusions from their understanding to general principles of engineering and prior experience in similar circumstances. For example, extrapolation through engineering judgment is employed by manufacturers to reduce the inefficiency and economic burdens associated with testing every conceivable permutation of a design. Where the basis for an expert’s application of engineering judgment has been well articulated, it is considered an acceptable methodology.
More to follow…Excerpted from Trial Magazine, November 2007