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 1 of 10

There are important differences between an insurance agent, an insurance broker, a wholesale broker and a Managing General Agent (MGA). An insurance agent is an authorized representative of an insurance company by contract and represents the insurance company to the buyer. An insurance broker is not an authorized representative of an insurance company, rather, the representative of the buyer to an insurance company. Both agents and brokers may be paid a commission by an insurance company but the nuanced relationship can become very important, particularly in a retail situation versus a wholesale situation.

Construction expert witness Paul Gogulski, BSCE, PE, of Gogulski & Associates, Inc., has teamed with other engineering experts in creating a program that allows project managers to see construction development through 3D video.

Gogulski believes that the program he developed with Keith Plemmons PhD, PE, PMP, and Benjamin Lamoreaux, PE, President of the Lamoreaux Group, will help set new standards in the construction industry by improving the accuracy of project reporting and minimizing risk.

Read more at prweb.com.

In EVALUATING AN EXPERT WITNESS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY CASES, school safety expert witness Michael Dorn writes:

Questions to Ask a Potential Expert Witness for School Safety Cases

Time and money spent up front to carefully evaluate an expert’s suitability for a particular case can save considerable time and money and prevent major problems down the road. Though attorneys and school safety experts are busy professionals, both should be prepared to take the time necessary to ensure the expert is a proper fit for the issues to be evaluated in the case.

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

INTRODUCTION This article is to inform and assist the individual or entity who is claiming that their securities professional and firm failed in their duty to conduct thorough, proper investigation and research, commonly known as “due diligence”. Investment professionals, regulators and lawyers often inappropriately use the term due diligence, which causes confusion in both the implementation of “due diligence” work and later in the attempt to ferret out the regulatory requirements under the rules relating to due diligence. The term “due diligence” has applications in numerous investment products and services. It is of the utmost importance that all practitioners fully understand their obligations and liabilities as it relates to this investigative research guideline and rule.

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

Asbestos expert witnesses may give opinions regarding asbestos abatement, asbestos exposure, and asbestos hazards. The Madison County Record recently reported that 2012 Madison County, IL, asbestos filings were up by 600 cases from 2011. The EPA website explains that most uses of asbestos are not banned. A few are banned under existing regulations. General information on asbestos may be found on the EPA website which answers questions including:

Where Can I Find Asbestos?

Because of its fiber strength and heat resistance asbestos has been used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. Asbestos has also been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and coatings.

Drug abuse expert witnesses may testify on chemical dependence, illicit drugs, substance abuse, and addiction. Synthetic drugs have been in the news recently. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says that while Ohio lawmakers have outlawed dangerous synthetic drugs, new compounds are being generated. On his website, DeWine offers answers to FAQ including Who normally abuses synthetic drugs?

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, 60% of synthetic drug abuse cases reported to poison control centers nationwide involved users age 25 or younger. The drugs are gaining popularity in Ohio and across the country, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. In 2010 they received 2,906 calls regarding synthetic drugs. In 2011 that number rose to 6,959. As of September 10, the Association received 4,161 synthetic drug calls in 2012.

read more: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/FAQ/All-Frequently-Asked-Questions.aspx?tagid=362#FAQ591

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:
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) Case Chronology: Once the medical records are retained, the process of summarizing and organizing the documents begins. Most lawyers and paralegals do not have the time nor training to pull apart the medical facts of a case, display them in a timeline and extract significant facts along the way. A well-created chronology will last the life of a case, be used at many different junctures and set up either the defense or prosecution to prove their case. It is a first and crucial step.

See: https://www.jurispro.com/MednickAssociates

For attorneys considering the use of a mortgage litigation consultant, the white paper authored by Joffrey Long has information that may be useful in considering which type of mortgage expert witness may be suited for their particular case. A mortgage expert witness may also be referred to as a Mortgage Lending Expert Witness, Hard Money Expert Witness, or Usury Expert Witness.

The complete whitepaper is available for download at: http://mortgageexpertwitness.net/

Mr. Long has been a mortgage broker/lender in hard money and institutional lending since 1979, president of mortgage company, past president and current education chair and director for the California Mortgage Assn.

Livestock expert witnesses may advise regarding feed, farming, livestock production. and associated matters. In the news, Pitman Family Farms filed against Zacky Farms in the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento. Pitman says Zacky has rushed through the sale $1M of inventory before they are taken over by Pitman. Zacky is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings after high feed prices shut the company down. It is reported that Pitman does not plan to rehire Zacky’s workers. Pitman is based in Sanger, CA, east of Fresno, CA.

In Event Data Recorders: Proper Evidence Collection in Criminal, Insurance and Tort Liability Investigations, accident investigation expert witness Shawn Gyorke writes:

Over the last several years, the landscape of traffic accident reconstruction and insurance claims investigations has changed dramatically at the hands of technological advances such as event data recorders (vehicle black box technology). This technology has been challenged on numerous occasions and generally been found to be reliable and admissible under both Frye and Daubert paradigms ¹.

The requirement for law enforcement and private insurers to collect and consider this type of evidence in their investigations has not been clearly defined. Law enforcement, insurance investigators and litigators may need to heighten their efforts in the preservation of this critical evidence. A failure to properly memorialize this evidence may ultimately result in evidence spoliation claims by criminal defendants, as well as claims of bad faith by parties involved in civil litigation.