Articles Posted in Researching Experts

What Is an Insurance Expert Witness?

An insurance expert witness is someone with extensive experience in and knowledge of the insurance industry who is called to the witness stand to provide information about aspects of a case which involve insurance. Expert witnesses can be used to provide judge and jury with information which can be used to deepen understanding of the case and the underlying issues. Conventionally, when someone is called as an expert witness, the legal team which calls the witness provides compensation because the witness is providing professional expertise and assistance, rather than simply being asked to testify about the events surrounding the crime like a conventional witness.

When seeking an expert witness, lawyers look for people with reliability and experience, and if they can find an insurance expert witness with a proved track record in court, this is preferred. A good expert witness has years of experience in the industry, or is involved in the academic study of insurance and the insurance industry. Ideally, she or he has been published in multiple settings, and may have other credentials which can be used to establish credibility on the stand.

Pest control expert witness Allan Snyder; ACGIH, AIHA, SPCI, of AFC Forensic Consulting writes on the treatment and control of termites:

PREVENTION • Building design may contribute to termite invasion.

• Keep all sub-structural wood at least 12 inches above the soil beneath the building.

Pesticides expert witness Allan Snyder; ACGIH, AIHA, SPCI, of AFC Forensic Consulting writes on the treatment and control of termites:

Treatment and control techniques vary depending on the species causing an infestation.

• Multiple colonies of the same species of termite or more than one species of termite can infest a building.

In The Value of a Construction Expert Witness, William Gulya, Jr., construction expert witness and President & CEO, Middlesex Trenching Company, writes:

By its very nature, construction is unique in that construction projects, along with the laws governing construction, affect so many different kinds of parties — project owners, developers, financial lenders, architects, engineers, planners, designers, contractors, sub-contractors, etc. Consequently, an attorney working in a construction legal dispute will most likely require the assistance and expertise of one or more construction expert witnesses.

Whether the case concerns a small-scale private residence or a huge industrial or commercial venture, the technical aspects associated with the project are best assessed, analyzed and opined upon by someone with extensive knowledge of construction and experience in the field, and many construction attorneys regard their expert witnesses as indispensable.

In THE REAL ESTATE CLIENT: VALUATION SERVES IMPORTANT MASTERS IN LITIGATION CASES, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar writes on the net asset value method:

The value of the partnership before considerations of discounts is determined by the net asset value method. The aggregate net asset value of the entire limited partnership is established by individually appraising each underlying asset taking into consideration liabilities at the valuation date. Assets and liabilities in a typical real estate limited partnership include cash, rents receivable, real estate properties, accounts payable, accrued expenses such as interest due on mortgages, mortgages, and refundable security deposits. The client’s limited partnership interest percentage is applied to the aggregate net asset value to determine the value of the interest before consideration of discounts.

In A Square Peg in a Round Hole – Building Design v. Occupancy Use, products liability expert witness Robert L. Rowe, President of Pyrocop, Inc., writes:

Part 3

As you can see, this was a significant challenge for me as the building was not protected by a fire sprinkler system and the manner of storage was inappropriate for the building design. Without question, this was a distinct fire/life safety hazard that I could not allow to continue until the building was brought up to code. After contacting both the tenant and the property management company as well as spending hours upon hours reviewing the codes trying to come up with a reasonable solution to maintain a safe building and at the same time try to preserve their business, I just could not fit “a square peg in a round hole” without the landlord and tenant spending thousands of dollars to “make it work”.

wrongful death expert witness Robert L. Rowe, President of Pyrocop, Inc., writes:

Part 2

A 30,000 square foot, nonsprinklered, 1950’s era commercial building in an industrial area was sitting vacant for some time which was “bleeding” money by the hour. There were several prospective tenants who inquired but, for one reason or the other, the building was not the right fit. Finally, an import export company looked at the facility and without hesitation, signed a lease and moved in. Had it not been for the City’s business license inspection program, I would have never known that building was occupied or being used.

In A Square Peg in a Round Hole – Building Design v. Occupancy Use, fire expert witness Robert L. Rowe, President of Pyrocop, Inc., writes:

Part 1

During my tenure as Fire Marshal in the Los Angeles Area, I’ve encountered numerous challenges relating to fire and building code interpretations and application. Beyond popular belief, the responsibility of a fire code official does not stop at insuring the safety of the public and minimizing property loss.

In THE REAL ESTATE CLIENT: VALUATION SERVES IMPORTANT MASTERS IN LITIGATION CASES, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar writes on fair market value:

The most prevalent standard of value, fair market value, has commanded a great deal of attention in valuation literature and court cases adjudicating valuation issues. In its simplest form, fair market value is defined by numerous court cases and IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60 as “…the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller when the former is not under any compulsion to buy and the latter is not under any compulsion to sell, both parties having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.” Most business valuation opinions are made under the fair market value standard.

Fair value is a legally created standard of value that applies to certain specific transactions. In most states, fair value is the statutory standard of value applicable in cases of dissenting stockholders’ appraisal rights. It is also found in the dissolution statutes of those few states in which minority stockholders can trigger a corporate dissolution under certain circumstances, such as California Corporations Code Section 2000. The concept of fair value also appears in partnership dissolutions under minority oppression statutes in some states. It is critical that legal counsel work with the business valuation expert to determine the interpretation of fair value that is applicable, if at all, and one cannot assume that there is a definition that is clear and concise in all circumstances.

In The Expert Nurse Witness, Ellen K. Murphy writes:

THE ROLE OF A NURSE EXPERT

After being retained as an expert witness, the perioperative nurse should carefully review all relevant health care records. At a minimum, this includes records from the entire health episode at issue, not just those from the perioperative period. The nurse expert will want to try to get a complete picture of what happened and when.