Articles Posted in Researching Experts

Dr. Scott Stanley, director of the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis, encouraged officials at the Symposium on Racing and Gaming to gather all available data before prosecuting equine drug cases. Stanley encouraged them to use chemistry expert witnesses to successfully enforce drug policies.

The conference kicked off the Symposium on Racing and Gaming, presented by the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program this week in Tucson, Arizona.outlined various testing procedures. Equine toxicologist and pharmacologist George Maylin D.V.M. showed how blood tests can provide more information than urine tests while lawyer Ira Finkelstein, who handles equine law cases, addressed case preparation and evidence compilation.

For more, see thoroughbredtimes.com.

Amednews.com reports on Maryland’s requirements for medical expert witnesses:

Maryland’s highest court upheld a tort reform measure requiring certain qualifications for expert witnesses in medical liability cases, a move physicians say will prevent plaintiffs from using so-called “hired guns” to bolster meritless lawsuits. The high court noted that its interpretation fell in line with other states with similar restrictions on expert witnesses, pointing to decisions in Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio.

Justices reversed a 2008 appeals court ruling allowing a French interventional neuroradiologist, Dr. Gerard Debrun, to testify as a plaintiff expert witness, though he had not practiced or seen patients since retiring in 2001, and most of his income came from serving as an expert witness. Appellate judges found that a majority of Dr. Debrun’s time was spent on other activities that were related to his field, including peer reviewing medical journals, reading, attending conferences and observing procedures.

Trucking expert witness V. Paul Herbert, C.P.S.A. of Western Motor Carrier Safety Institute, Inc. offers resources on his website including:

The FMCSA Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER)

System offers company safety data and related services to industry and the public over the Internet. Users can search FMCSA databases, register for a USDOT number, pay fines online, order company safety profiles, challenge FMCSA data using the DataQs system, access the Hazardous Material Route registry, obtain National Crash and Out of Service rates for Hazmat Permit Registration, get printable registration forms and find information about other FMCSA Information Systems.

The managed care organization expert witness may write reports on coordinated care, a type of health care delivery that emphasizes active coordination and arrangement of health services. Managed care usually involves three key components: oversight of the medical care given; contractual relationships with and organization of the providers giving care; and the covered benefits tied to managed care regulations.

From http://www.mcol.com.

The health maintenance organization expert witness may testify on HMO prepaid health plans.
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) function much like an insurance company. They offer policies, collect premiums and bear financial risk. So how are HMOs different than regular insurance companies? Insurance companies are a third party to patients and providers. HMOs are also the provider. HMOs usually sub-contract out to provider organizations but also share financial risk with providers. HMOs require care to be delivered only by HMO providers, except in emergencies or under special benefit plans. HMOs, as the full name implies, emphasize preventive medicine.

From http://www.mcareol.com/mcoldict/dictlst.asp.

Trucking expert witness V. Paul Herbert, C.P.S.A., of Western Motor Carrier Safety Institute, Inc., offers resources on his website including:

NHTSA is responsible for reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. This is accomplished by setting and enforcing safety performance standards for motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, and through grants to state and local governments to enable them to conduct effective local highway safety programs.

For more, see Paul Herbert.

Amednews.com reports on Maryland’s requirements for medical expert witnesses:

Maryland’s highest court upheld a tort reform measure requiring certain qualifications for expert witnesses in medical liability cases, a move physicians say will prevent plaintiffs from using so-called “hired guns” to bolster meritless lawsuits. The 2004 law prohibits the use of medical expert witnesses who devote more than 20% of their professional time to testifying in personal injury cases….
“This allows a qualified doctor to continue to utilize his or her expertise [to assist in medical liability cases], but prevents him or her from launching a second career as purely an expert witness,” states the opinion in University of Maryland Medical System v. Waldt (mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2009/130a08.pdf).

Trucking expert witness V. Paul Herbert, C.P.S.A. of Western Motor Carrier Safety Institute, Inc. offers resources on his website including:

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is a not-for-profit organization, established to promote an environment free of commercial vehicle accidents and incidents. CVSA is an association of state, provincial, and federal officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of motor carrier safety laws in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

For more, see Paul Herbert.

In The Concept of the Coefficient of Friction in Slip and Fall Litigation accident investigation expert witness Melvin M. Friedlander, P.E., writes:

When a person enters litigation, because of an injury from a slip and fall accident, the slipperiness of the surface becomes a major factor in the matter before the court. The slipperiness of the surface is measured by a dimensionless ratio called the coefficient of friction or COF. The COF is the surface force, generated by a pedestrian, in the walking direction, divided by the weight of the pedestrian. As an example, a 200 pound pedestrian generating a 100 lb surface force will have a COF equal to 0.50

For more, see https://www.jurispro.com/MelvinFriedlanderPE.

In What Fire Scene Responders Need to Know in Tough Economic Times (Part 3), fire expert witness and Principal of Pyrocop Inc., Robert Rowe writes:

Another factor that can reduce the incidence of arson is ensuring that every suspicious fire is investigated. Ensuring that an investigator is called to investigate is the job of those who initially respond to fire scenes.

Fire Scene Responders (FSR’s) such as firefighters, police officers, emergency medical services personnel, and insurance personnel are typically the first individuals who walk into a fire scene. As such, they must have the necessary tools to properly identify indicators of a suspicious fire incident, develop a “gut feeling” that something is not quite right, and take the necessary steps to ensure that a qualified investigator is called to the scene as soon as possible.