Articles Posted in Researching Experts

Pesticides expert witnesses may provide reports concerning pesticide regulations, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and related matters. San Francisco Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero heard arguments Friday regarding dismissal of The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America case against the EPA. The Center charges the EPA with failing to assess the impacts of hundreds of pesticides known to be harmful to more than 200 endangered and threatened species.

The lawsuit seeks protection from harmful pesticides for 212 endangered and threatened species throughout the United States, including Florida panthers, California condors, piping plovers, black-footed ferrets, arroyo toads, Indiana bats, bonytail chubs and Alabama sturgeon. Documents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and EPA, as well as peer-reviewed scientific studies, show that these species can be harmed by the more than 300 pesticides at issue.

Patents expert witnesses may consult on software patents, invention patents, and international patents, as well as related issues. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) went into effect March 16, 2013. Patent applications will be judged by “first to file” replacing “first to invent.” The USPTO Release 13-10 USPTO Publishes Final Rules and Guidelines Governing First-Inventor-to-File states:

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published final rules of practice implementing the first-inventor-to-file provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). The provision, one of the hallmarks of the AIA, is a major step towards harmonization of the U.S. patent system with those of the United States’ major trading partners, allowing greater consistency in the prosecution and enforcement of U.S. patents. The AIA also includes safeguards to ensure that only an original inventor or his assignee may be awarded a patent under the first-inventor-to-file system. The first-inventor-to-file provision of the AIA goes into effect on March 16, 2013, and represents the final implementation of the changes mandated by the AIA.

Hours of service expert witnesses may write reports and testify on trucking, the trucking industry, and trucking and transportation rules and regulations. The DOT website states that most drivers must follow the HOS Regulations if they drive a commercial motor vehicle.

The Hours of Service of Drivers Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2011. The effective date of the Final Rule is February 27, 2012, and the compliance date of selected provisions is July 1, 2013.

Read more: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/

Trucking expert witnesses may opine on issues involving the trucking industry, the Department of Transportation, trucking safety, truck maintenance, and trucking and transportation rules and regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration maintains a company safety records database that is searchable by company name, USDOT number, or motor carrier number.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/sites/company-safety.htm

Insurance expert witnesses may advise on issues involving insurance claims, insurance adjusters, insurance agencies, and insurance fraud. The Insurance Claims And Issues blog entry A SHORT VISIT TO THE ADJUSTMENT OF CLAIMS discusses adjusters and independent adjusters.

Adjusting insurance claims sometimes seems like the opposite of what Mark Twain said about the weather: ‘Everybody is doing something about it, but nobody talks about it.’ This article will focus on that issue.

Claims are adjusted by an adjuster who is someone in the employ of the insurance company, or specially retained by it for a given claim or set of claims.

Internet expert witnesses may consult on social media, internet browsers, internet security, and related matters. In the news, Google Inc. will pay $7M to 38 states over its collection of personal data from 2008 to May 2010. Google Street View cars drove down public streets and gathered WiFi network information for their geolocation services. Google Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker signed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance on March 8, 2013.

Read document: http://hawaii.gov/dcca/ocp/news-releases/Assurance%20AVC%20Google.pdf

Software expert witnesses may opine on application software, business software, computer software, and associated matters. In the news, the LA Times reports that European Union antitrust officials fined Microsoft Corp. $731M for failing give a browser choice in Windows. Microsoft had agreed to include a browser selection in Windows 7 but did not for 14 months starting in February 2011 with Windows 7 Service pack 1. Microsoft reported the option was still there and sited technical errors.

Legal nurse consultant expert witnesses may testify on palliative care, forensic nursing, medical record review, and legal nurse certification, as well as related issues. In 5 ways Legal Nurse Consultants Assist with Medical Mass Torts, Mednick Associates writes:

2) Defense assistance: LNCs act as a siphoning agent for defense attorneys. As they review the records they are able to answer specific questions the defense may present, thus making an argument to dismiss a potential plaintiff. For example, they may scan the records to determine if the plaintiff is a smoker or obese, factors that may exclude them or provide an argument for their dismissal.

3) Plaintiff assistance: For the prosecution, the LNC performs a vital function of reviewing the records for specific patterns or ailments that may result from a particular drug, medical device or treatment. These trends are what increase the population of plaintiffs, thus making the case stronger, more difficult to refute and easier to obtain a medical expert witness.

In DUE DILIGENCE: SECURITIES APPLICATIONS AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, 2011, securities expert witness Douglas J. Schulz writes:

DEFINITIONS What are the accepted or appropriate definitions of the term “due diligence”? As in almost all regulatory or litigation situations, it depends on which side of the fence you are on. If you are on the defense side and you are being accused by either a regulator or an investor/claimant that you failed to perform proper due diligence, your definition may be amorphous and narrow. You might claim the term is synonymous with such words as inquiry, investigation, research or review. On the other hand, if you are the investor/claimant, your definition will be more encompassing and will include such words as systematic, methodical, meticulous, scrupulous, detailed, and comprehensive.

Mr. Schulz has been in the securities business professionally for 33 years and has been hired over 1,100 times as a securities expert.

Dr. Monique Busch, PhD, ACSW, LCSW, of Performance Solutions Unlimited, LLC, writes on what it takes to consult as a child welfare expert witness.

Being an expert witness is so often more about being an expert consultant as matters are less likely to go to trial and more likely to settle or to be mediated. I have found as an expert in child welfare matters that some of the more helpful information that I have to contribute has to do with understanding day-to-day operations of the industry, functions of key players, checks and balances in the system, and the federal, as well as state laws that make state public child welfare agencies more alike than different.

Child welfare matters involve a great number of different professionals: public child welfare agency personnel; legal – juvenile courts, family courts, guardian ad litem, court appointed special advocate (CASA), attorneys, law enforcement; medical; mental health; and familial. I believe that being passionate about the subject matter in which one is an expert is important. These matters pull on the heart strings, and it is critically important to keep the child(ren) in the matter as the focal point.