Articles Posted in Researching Experts

In Property & Casualty Insurance Procurement & Litigation (Ten Recurring Themes Every Lawyer Should Know) insurance expert witness David L. Stegall, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPA, of Risk Consulting & Expert Services writes on ten recurring themes that often lead to litigation. Attorneys either dealing in insurance procurement litigation issues or with clients who purchase insurance may want to consider these ten themes:

Theme 7 of 10 Understand Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM) coverage before it is needed. This coverage acts as the liability coverage for persons who injure you, your family, your employees or anyone driving your car with your permission when the person who causes injury either does not have liability insurance or is underinsured. Various states handle the issue of UM coverage differently, and apart from the 12 states that provide so-called ‘no-fault” coverage with Personal Injury Protection (PIP), insurance buyers seldom purchase adequate Automobile UM Liability Limits.

With this in mind, the minimum limit an automobile policy provides is typically woefully inadequate. It is estimated that 15 percent of all drivers on the road are without insurance and even more have minimum limits. In some states, this average percentage can be doubled.

Real estate damages expert witnesses may give expert opinions on a wide range of issues including flood damage, hurricane damage, damage impact and related matters. In Sandy-Related Suits Against Co-ops, Condos Face Unique Challenges, the New York Law Journal reports on lawsuits filed by condo and co-op owners in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Owners are suing their building management over failure to protect their property in the disaster. NYLJ says the plaintiffs face a unique difficulty. “How can they show that the managers failed to prepare adequately for a disaster that no one had seen before?”

Explosions expert witnesses may consult regarding flammable materials, chemical explosions, and combustion. In the news, MailOnline reports that “a malfunctioning golf cart, faulty electrical system or even arson” could have led to the fire that triggered the deadly explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. Officials have yet to find the cause of a blast that killed 14 people, including 12 first responders. The blast formed a crater 93′ wide by 10′ deep.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/.

Patent litigation expert witnesses may consult and testify on patent prosecution, patent infringement, design patents, exclusive rights, and more. The Santa Clara University School of Law has released a study entitled Best Practices in Patent Litigation Survey which describes how patents have become a major part of business planning. Reuters reports that the survey discusses “patent assertion entities,” which are companies that do not make anything themselves.

Scholarly papers by Assistant Professor Colleen V. Chien,

Santa Clara University – School of Law. including Startups and Patent Trolls may be found here:

Fire expert witnesses may consult on wildfires, fire engineering, fire accelerants, fire safety engineering, and fire patterns, among other topics. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that there could be “another historic wildfire season” and significantly less funds to work with due to budget cuts from the sequester.

Tom Vilsack said the Agriculture Department will try to manage large fires using monies budgeted for prevention in order to pay for fire fighting.

Read more: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/56310072-68/fire-fires-acres-burned.html.csp

In Property & Casualty Insurance Procurement & Litigation (Ten Recurring Themes Every Lawyer Should Know) insurance expert witness David L. Stegall, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPA, of Risk Consulting & Expert Services writes on ten recurring themes that often lead to litigation. Attorneys either dealing in insurance procurement litigation issues or with clients who purchase insurance may want to consider these ten themes:

The insurance application process now requires more attention. There was a time, in the not too distant past, when most applications for property and casualty insurance did not require the signature of the insurance buyer. Agents routinely completed applications and underwriters readily accepted them without anyone’s signature on the application. This custom and practice is no more. Insurance applications have become more than just tools to gather underwriting information to determine the eligibility of the applicant for coverage and for premium determination purposes. The necessity for thoroughness and precision has greatly increased. It is more than appropriate and appreciated by the underwriter for the applicant to provide supplemental answers and explanations along with the standardized application. These relatively recent changes in the usual and customary practices of making an application for insurance can make the difference between having a claim covered and not having it covered. An ambiguity or misunderstanding can become an allegation of misrepresentation, which can lead to no coverage at all, rather than just a possible increase in premiums. Policy rescission and voiding policies ab initio are on the rise, along with underwriters using application information as “Warrants” thereby making the application a part of the policy (which has always been the case with life insurance policy applications).

These developments make providing accurate information to underwriters more than just important. Accurate information becomes the basis for the existence of the contract itself and adds an increased threshold to the concept of “utmost good-faith” which is the traditional basis of all insurance relationships.

Intellectual property litigation expert witnesses may opine on licensing, assignees, patents, and associated matters. At the blog IPWise, attorneys Peter J. Brann, Stacy O. Stitham, and David Swetnam-Burland are “Making Business Wise About Intellectual Property Litigation.” The litigation attorneys with Brann & Isaacson represent leading internet retailers in intellectual property matters running the gamut from copyright to trademark to patent litigation. On May 10th, they wrote:

In a badly fractured en banc decision, the Federal Circuit in CLS Bank v. Alice Corp. affirmed the lower court’s holding that Alice’s claims to a computerized method, a computer-readable medium containing computer instructions, and a computer system that implements those instructions were not patent-eligible subject matter.

Read more: http://ipwise.wordpress.com/.

Safety expert witnesses may provide reports concerning safety codes, safety standards, and safety inspections. After the April 2013 collapse of the Dhaka, Bangladesh, textile factory complex, all the Ashulia industrial zone factories have been shut down. Criminal cases have been brought against at least 177 garment factories after they failed to ensure safety measures. Nine stories collapsed and 1,100 employees lost their lives in the industrial disaster.

Details: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp

FDA expert witnesses may consult on the FDA, food and drug regulations for humans and animals, nutritional standards of care, and more. In the news, Wrigley has decided to stop production of their new product Alert Energy Caffeine Gum after meetings with the FDA. One piece of the chewing gum contains 40 mg of caffeine, equal to 1/2 cup of coffee.

The FDA is investigating deaths which may be linked to energy drinks with caffeine. Caffeine gum may be detrimental to young people.

Environmental toxicology expert witnesses may consult on chemical spills, forensic toxicology, toxic chemicals exposure, and related matters. In the news, two workers at the Idaho National Laboratory research facility have filed a complaint with OSHA against Battelle Energy Alliance after being exposed to plutonium contamination in 2011. Ralph Stanton and Brian Simmons accuse Batelle of creating an unsafe work environment and officials at INL have confirmed that at least two workers suffered internal exposure to plutonium and 14 others may have been exposed accidentally at the facility. Battelle is the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization, with over 22,000 employees at more than 130 locations globally.

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/