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Railroad expert witnesses may give opinions regarding railroad accident reconstruction, railroad accident investigation, train wrecks, and railroad safety. News.nationalgeographic.com reported that the oil train tragedy in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, involved crude oil tankers that decoupled, slid downhill and exploded. The train was parked and unmanned when 72 tankers caused the fire and explosion near the Maine border. The oil was being conveyed from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields to a New Brunswick refinery.

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National Transportation Safety Board investigators report that the pilots flying the Asiana flight 214 Boeing 777 did not have access to a system designed to assist in safely landing the jet airliner. The glide-slope provides guidance to keep the plane at the correct elevation and angle before landing but was out of service due to runway construction. NTSB Senior Aviation Accident Investigator Bill English is serving as investigator-in-charge. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman is accompanying the team and will serve as the principal spokesman. Ms. Hersman said the flight data recorder indicates the aircraft’s speed at impact was 106 knots which is well below the aircraft’s target landing speed of 137 knots.

Former TWA pilot Barry Schiff stated that pilots “should always make an approach with power, and they didn’t do that.” The aviation safety expert witness has more than 27,000 hours logged in more than 300 types of aircraft and is the author of over 1,500 articles published in 90 aviation magazines. He is a contributing editor at AOPA Pilot.

Read more: http://www.ntsb.gov/

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Petroleum engineering expert witnesses may consult on petrochemical engineering, horizontal drilling, and deepwater operations. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit judges Edith Brown Clement, James Dennis, and Leslie Southwick will be hearing arguments in the BP case over payments in the 2010 Deep Horizon oil spill. BP says settlement arrangements have been misconstrued resulting in businesses getting excessive payments.

In June the Coast Guard decided to stop sending out BP funded crews that have looked for oil deposits on northern Gulf Coast beaches on a regular basis.

More: http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/default.aspx

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In Seven Costly Mistakes Attorneys Make With Medical Negligence Cases, Dr. Burton Bentley of Elite Medical Experts LLC writes:

Although the rate of negligence claims against medical providers has begun to level off, the cost of litigating these actions has risen dramatically. Vast amounts of time and money are lost when attorneys – whether retained by plaintiff or defense – pursue a non-meritorious case or litigate a worthy case inefficiently. Beware of the following costly errors:

MISTAKE #5: MISSING THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE DIFFICULT CASES INDEPENDENTLY REVIEWED BY A NON-TESTIFYING EXPERT.

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DNA expert witness Andrea Young testified on blood evidence in the Oakland, MI, County Circuit Court felony murder case against Mitchell Young. Victim Robert Cipriano was beaten to death and his wife and son were seriously injured in the home invasion.

Ms. Young is a forensic scientist at the Michigan State Police Crime Lab and testified regarding DNA evidence found on weapons and clothes. On their website, the Michigan State Police describes DNA testing as “conducted on samples submitted by the serology sub-discipline to assist in the identification of individuals that may have left biological fluids at a crime scene.”

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Video expert witness Barry G. Dickey testified in Michael Patrick Kennedy’s attempted capital murder case (Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, at Austin). Dickey analyzed footage from the video camera mounted on Officer Richard Kunz’s patrol car and testified that Kunz shot at Kennedy first. “There is no evidence that any other shots were fired prior to Officer Kunz firing his weapon.”

Barry G. Dickey is the certified forensic expert for Audio Evidence Lab, a laboratory specializing in the examination, production, and engineering of audio/video recordings.

Read more: http://law.justia.com/cases/texas/third-court-of-appeals/2011/03-07-00134-cr-7.html

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Patents expert witnesses may consult on issues involving patent protection, patent prosecution, and patent infringement. Macobserver.com reports that Boston University has filed a patent suit against Apple over a semiconductor BU received a patent on in 1997. BU is seeking a sales injunction on Apple.

See complaint here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/151515660/BU-v-Apple.

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Pornography expert witnesses may provide reports concerning child pornography, cyberpornography, sexual exploitation, and domestic assault. Former Ripley, WV, police officer George Michael Puskas II pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in Charleston this week. Puskas taped child pornography using a digital camera issued by the police department.

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

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Human resources expert witness Jean L. Seawright, CMC, testified in the wrongful death civil lawsuit against concert promoter AEG. Ms. Seawright told jurors that AEG did not follow adequate procedures when hiring Dr. Conrad Murry as Michael Jackson’s doctor. A financial background check would have revealed Dr. Murray was deeply in debt which led to a conflict of interest. AEG was paying Dr. Murray $150K a month to keep Jackson fit for his tour.

As a management consultant since 1987, Ms. Seawright has provided professional HR consultation services and advice to business owners, CEOs, boards, and HR leaders across the nation.

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Bankruptcy expert witnesses may provide expert witness testimony concerning liquidation of assets, bankruptcy trustees, and corporate bankruptcies, as well as related issues. This week Jefferson County, AL, filed a plan to end the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, $4.2 billion.

Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy in 2011 with debts of $3.14B related to sewer work. While the debt outstrips the Orange County, CA, 1994 bankruptcy, it is the first time municipal bond investors are forced to take losses on their principal.