Articles Posted in Researching Experts

In Brain Injury and Concussion, neurology expert witness Dr. Richard A. Rubenstein writes:

A small percentage of concussed patients do not recover as expected. Why? Signs of pathology on imaging studies may be the answer (complicated concussion). Especially troublesome are those claimants with no loss of consciousness, a Glasgow Coma Scale Score (GCS) of 15, and little or no post-traumatic amnesia. New research may offer an answer. A small subset of claimants with MRI or CT evidence of abnormality maybe a window into brain function and sequelae of a blow to the head. This cutting edge article offers an explanation for both memory and executive function impairment after a complicated mild traumatic brain injury.

In this observational study, the clinical relevance of abnormal findings on early brain imaging after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is demonstrated. This study shows that abnormal imaging in the acute state determines prognosis in a subset of patients with prolonged symptoms after concussion (complicated concussion).

On her website FAQ document examination expert witness Emily J. Will, D-BFDE, answers the question:

Q. Can a document examiner work with photocopies of questioned documents?

A. This question must be answered on a case by case basis. If the copy is of good quality, and if there is enough information in the writing to allow an opinion, a copy can be sufficient. But there are some situations where the opinion rests on a subtle aspect of the writing that might only be visible on an original viewed under the microscope. In such situations, examination of the original is critical. Often the examiner’s opinion must be qualified due to limitations on the examination process due to submission of non-original documents.

In his blog Witness Perspective Photography, photography expert witness George Reis, principal at Imaging Forensics, writes:

What did the witness to a crime see from 40 feet away at 3:00 a.m.? What did the driver see when approaching the intersection at sunset? What could the injured party see in the movie theater before tripping on a stair?

Witness perspective photography involves returning to the scene under similar lighting conditions, observing the scene, and photographically recording it so that the trier of fact can see the lighting conditions, perspective, size of objects, etc. from the witness’ point of view. As the photographer, I document, in detail, what I can can see – how much detail there is, what objects are too dark to discern, which are too light, etc.Then I photograph the scene to represent what I could see. I make prints that represent what I was able to see at the scene, under the given lighting conditions, using the proper focal length, print size, and print viewing distance so that the viewer will see all objects at the same size, brightness, contrast, and color as I did when at the scene.

High speed rail transit expert witnesses may consult on railroad grade crossings, bullet trains, and railroad operating practices. Construction has begun on the high speed train connecting northern and southern California. $10B was approved by voters but recent projections put the price at $68B. In addition, the economic downturn has resulted in new plans that include the bullet trains sharing tracks and having to reduce speed. Even Quentin Kopp, past chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, has dropped support for the project. The BART advocate and former California senator describes the project as “no longer a genuine high speed rail system.”

Railroad expert witnesses may give opinions regarding railroad accident investigation, train wrecks, railroad safety, and railroad operating practices. Canadian National Railway Co. rail cars carrying propane and oil derailed Saturday near Edmonton while on their way from Vancouver. The Canadian Department of Transportation has issued new regulations this week which on the importing or transporting of crude oil.

The Canadian DOT offers information on rail investigations,including the 9/11/13 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, accident on their website: http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-investigations/rail/index.aspforcing the evacuation of a small town.

General surgery expert witness Dr. James Stone testified for the defense in the Morton County, IA, case against Colten Towry. Towry was found not guilty of manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Derek Oshkeshequoam. Dr. Stone is a general surgeon at the CRHC Surgery Center, Clarinda, IA, who specializes in critical care medicine and surgery. He testified that Oshkeshequoam’s head injuries were not the result of one or two punches but more likely from the injury he sustained when his head hit the concrete ground and then not being taken to the hospital until the next day. The jury did find the defendant guilty of aggravated assault.

Civil engineering expert witness and UC Berkeley engineering professor Robert Bea testified October 1, 2013, that British Petroleum had not developed technology to handle a deep water blowout at the time of the Macondo massive oil spill. Dr. Bea described their policy as a “think about it when it happens plan.” Company executive James Dupree admitted that BP engineers didn’t have the equipment they needed to attack the Macondo well. New Orleans district judge Carl Barbier is considering if BP’s actions reached the level of “gross negligence.”

Expert witness Professor Bea has over 48 years of experience in engineering and management of design, construction, maintenance, operation, and decommissioning marine systems including offshore platforms, pipelines, and floating facilities.

Internet expert witnesses may provide reports regarding electronic mail, online chat, social media, and internet marketing. This week the FBI shut down the internet marketplace Silk Road and arrested owner Ross William Ulbricht. Ulbricht is charged with narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering. FBI agent Christopher Tarbell said the site was used by “several thousand drug dealers” to sell “hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs.”

Charges include offering tutorials on contact lists for black market connections and counterfeiters, hacking ATM machines, and guns and hit men for sale. An FBI pilot program targeting internet crime was recently launched by the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the state of Utah. The IC3 reports that in 2012 alone, victims reported more than $500 million in losses due to crimes like fraudulent auto sales, intimidation/extortion scams, online dating fraud, scareware and ransomware, auction fraud, charity fraud, and computer intrusions.

Bus accident expert witnesses may consult regarding transportation accidents, bus accidents, motor carriers, and bus safety. In the news, National Transportation Safety Board investigators were not sent to the eastern Tennessee crash scene of a church bus with an passenger vehicle and tractor-trailer due to the federal government shutdown. The Tennessee Highway Patrol says a front tire on the bus malfunctioned caused the bus to cross the highway. Fatalities included six bus passengers, the truck driver and one of the people in the SUV.

The NTSB usually begins an investigation of a major accident with their “Go Team” which is comprised of three or four to more than a dozen specialists from the Board’s headquarters staff in Washington, D.C. The specialists at a highway crash include a truck or bus mechanical expert and a highway engineer.

In More effective use of experts in slip-and-fall cases – The right expert will help you to better prepare the case and win it at trial, attorney David Reinard writes on when to retain your experts:

• How obvious is liability? If you know you have them dead to rights, you can wait as close to trial as your personality allows.

• How big of a case is it? If you have a big damages case, you can’t afford to wait and miss something because you didn’t hire an expert at the beginning. And if you have a big damages case, you need to be ready to spend the money to do it right.