Articles Posted in Expert Witness News

by

In Understanding How Materials Fail: Stress v. Fatigue, forensic engineering expert witness Clyde C. Richard, Ph.D., P.E., writes on material failure:

Today, in most product liability cases in the court system or with insurance companies, the alleged cause of the accident is either misuse or material failure. Accidents including people falling off ladders, chairs or bicycles and the failure of machinery and motorized vehicles can be caused by or contributed by material failure. Materials such as metals, plastics, ceramics and glass can fail immediately or breakdown over time through two different mechanisms: stress and fatigue.

Stress, or what some experts call a fracture, is when someone or something applies a load that exceeds the ultimate strength of a material. An example would be a tow hitch on a car that is rated for 3,000 lbs. and the user pulls a load of 9,000 lbs.

by

In Treadmill Accidents: Allegations for Product Defects, equipment and machinery expert witness Clyde C. Richard, Ph.D., P.E., writes that treadmills continue to be one of the major causes of liability claims in the health club industry today and that accidents involving treadmills in homes are causing an increasing number of injuries as well. His company was retained to investigate a treadmill accident where the homeowner purchased a commercial treadmill and two years later set it up in a small confined space.

The plaintiff was exercising when they fainted, fell off the treadmill, was pushed to the rear and pinned against the wall, sustaining major injures as a result. The allegation in the complaint was that the manufacturer designed a defective product because it should have included a safety device other than the string pull or dead man switch that would protect a person who fell while exercising…

The engineer…obtained the installation guide and owner’s manual and determined that both had specific instructions to allow five to ten feet behind the treadmill for clearance in the event of a fall. A site inspection showed that the treadmill was installed with only 19 inches of clearance. A history of fainting revealed during the plaintiff’s deposition only heightened the importance of the manufacturer’s warnings. The insight and research of the engineer allowed the treadmill manufacturer to be dismissed from the case. Treadmills, like any other moving piece of equipment can be dangerous if the warning and safety precautions are not followed.

by

In Managing Construction Quality, construction safety expert witness Pete Fowler describes how “the good old days” are gone and construction professionals are now living in a new world:

• Consumers expect increasing quality and decreasing prices in all products.

• The building industry is not keeping pace with the quality and price advances many industries are making.

Continue reading

by

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

In today’s real estate mortgage market, it is essential that the expert understand, be fully aware of, and cognizant of the entities involved and their roles in initiating, processing, underwriting and funding all types of prime and subprime residential mortgage loans including ones. In addition, the stages that a prime and subprime residential mortgage loans processes through during its “life” are also crucial…

A mortgage banker underwrites the risk involved in making a mortgage loan to determine whether the borrower satisfies the loan underwriting guidelines for the loan program and to ensure the associated risks are acceptable. After underwriting approval, the mortgage banker funds and closes the mortgage loan. Then the mortgage banker either sells/ships the mortgage loan to the investor or retains it in its own portfolio. In addition, the mortgage banker performs a quality control audit on a statistical sampling of the closed mortgage loans to detect fraud and to insure compliance with policies and procedures.

by

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.

Continue reading

by

Even if you’ve been lucky and avoided tickets for years, being pulled over for speeding or drunken driving could cost you plenty. Fines, legal fees, and hiring an expert witness can add up to a “financial mugging.” In First-time driving offenders don’t get off easy , AOLautos writes on how a DUI can also affect your reputation:

If you are a professional — a doctor, an attorney, a stock broker, pilot, a teacher, even a politician these days — a DUI arrest, not to mention a conviction, is most certain to affect your reputation, your standing in the community or group to which you belong, and even your professional credentials.

Even if you are just the third cubicle on the right at the travel agency, produce manager of Safeway #376 or third camera assistant on the local TV news, your career track now has a speed bump in it, a DUI on your record that can stay there for years, potentially and/or actually damaging your chances for advancement and/or qualifying for a better job at another organization.

by

Even if you’ve been lucky and avoided tickets for years, being pulled over for speeding or drunken driving could cost you plenty. In First-time driving offenders don’t get off easy , AOLautos writes:

The car insurance companies are in business to avoid loss, and drunken drivers, or those arrested for DUI, represent potential profit drains. Your automobile liability insurance costs — mandatory just about everywhere — could, according to experts, double, triple or even quadruple because of a DUI, especially a DUI with a high BAC.

Even if you are capable of paying a bank-breaking new tariff, you might still lose your insurance since a number of major insurance companies are ridding their files of drivers they see as risky and can drop your coverage even if you are found not guilty.

by

Even if you’ve been lucky and avoided tickets for years, being pulled over for speeding or drunken driving could cost you plenty. Fines, legal fees, and hiring an expert witness can add up to a “financial mugging.” In First-time driving offenders don’t get off easy , AOLautos writes:

Speeding fines and penalties are, excuse the expression, all over the map; how fast you were going or where you were speeding (school zone or construction zone for example) and whether you are a first-time offender all factor in. More than half the states use a points system to record driver infraction data — the more points, the higher the fines and possible jail terms.

Although Forbes Magazine reports that the national median for a first-time offender’s fine is $200, many states are quite entrepreneurial in their penalties for first-time speeding-related offenses:

Continue reading