Expert Witness Blog

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

Introduction There has been a dramatic increase in the number of people who work in the field of school safety, security and emergency preparedness since the tragic Columbine High School attack on April 20, 1999. Many practitioners are highly skilled and qualified. Some experts are properly qualified to work in some areas, but have no relevant background in other areas. This has led to a significant problem with school safety experts who work outside their areas of expertise. As with other disciplines, school safety expert witnesses who work outside their specialties can have a significant impact on court cases. For example, school safety experts have incurred financial liability for allegedly working beyond their areas of expertise as was the case in the deadly Red Lake Reservation school shooting.

Problems in addition to experts working beyond their field of expertise should be considered. For example, in a civil action brought against a public school system by the parents of a student murdered on campus, the school system settled the case shortly after they withdrew one of their expert witnesses prior to his deposition. I had been asked by plaintiff’s counsel to evaluate the defense’s expert witness to help counsel prepare to depose him. Though this expert witness had been interviewed by national media organizations, had many years of experience as a school safety consultant, had served previously as an expert witness in school safety cases, and had what could at first glance appear to be seemingly impressive credentials, I had questions about his suitability to serve as an expert witness.

In Do Helmets Prevent Concussion? biomechanics expert witness John D. Lloyd, Ph.D., M.Erg.S., CPE, CBIS, writes:

BRAINS Researchers Reveal Deficiencies in Football Helmet Design

Researchers at BRAINS, Inc. have conducted biomechanical tests revealing the deficiency of current football helmet designs in protecting players from brain injury, particularly concussion.

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

Purpose of this paper This document is designed to help legal risk management practitioners who must evaluate the match between an expert and a school safety court case. Court cases involving school safety issues are extremely important because they can at times involve not only millions of dollars, but also have a major impact on the lives of victims, surviving family members as well as the people and organizations named as defendants. For example, a student who incurs serious permanent injury may require millions of dollars in future medical care over a lifetime. At the same time, serious allegations of misconduct or negligence can affect the lives and reputations of school officials, public safety officials and school organizations named as defendants.

This article provides a list of questions attorneys may want to ask an expert witness before deciding to retain the expert as well as tips for evaluating an expert witness retained by opposing counsel. This information should be helpful to insurance professionals and judges who are tasked with determining if an expert is properly qualified for a particular case. As a non-profit school safety center, the goal of Safe Havens International is to help make schools safer, more effective places to learn and to work. Efficient and fair resolution of legal disputes relating to school safety situations supports these goals.

In The Many Faces of TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, brain injury expert witness Dr. John D. Lloyd, PhD, MErgS, CPE, CBIS, writes:

The brain is the most complex thing in the world. A baby’s brain at birth, weighing about 1 pound is already one-third the size of a typical 3-pound adult brain. And if we consider that there are one million nerve cells in a section of brain the size of a grain of rice, it is impossible to comprehend the billions and billions of neuronal pathways in an average brain. In fact, there are more neural connections in each brain than there are stars in the sky. A baby’s brain is the last of the major organs to develop in utero, where neurons are born from the division of a stem cell. Unlike most cells in the body, which die and are replaced, neurons, which are formed in the fetus, are designed to last for a lifetime.

There are two primary mechanisms associated with traumatic brain injury – impact loading and impulse loading.

In EFFECTIVE VALUATION & LITIGATION SUPPORT IN CORPORATE SECURITIES LAWSUITS, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar, CPA, CVA, ABV, CFF, MBA-Taxation, writes:

CORPORATE SECURITIES LITIGATION

• Minority shareholder rights • Going public or going private transactions • Securities fraud • Buy-sell agreements • Corporate dissolution

In Do Helmets Prevent Concussion? biomechanics expert witness John D. Lloyd, Ph.D., M.Erg.S., CPE, CBIS, writes:

Concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a leading health issue resulting from head impacts associated with sports, recreation and transportation. Youths are particularly susceptible to head injury, though it can also devastate a professional career. Full recovery from mTBI often takes longer than expected, without which a second, even relatively innocuous, impact could have catastrophic outcomes.

Helmet manufacturers realize that their products may not reduce the risk of concussion and even NOCSAE (National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment) standards are based on tests that ignore risks associated with concussions. Yet, clinicians recognize that brain injuries are caused by a combination of impact and impulse mechanisms, which engineers are readily able to measure in terms of linear and angular head motions.