Expert Witness Blog

Diesel engine experts at TractorData.com write on tractor fuel types:

Diesel Fuel Diesel fuel first started appearing in large agricultural crawlers in the 1930s, but it was not until the 1950s that diesel became a major fuel source for farm tractors. Difficult starting limited the use of early diesel engines. Some manufacturers built spark-ignition diesel engines, or engines that started on gasoline and were switched over to diesel. Others used small gasoline “pony motors” to warm and start the diesel main engine.

By 1960, diesel engines had greatly improved and were becoming very popular for large farm tractors. By the 1970s, nearly all farm tractors used diesel engines.

In Mold, Housing and Wood, wood products experts at the Western Wood Products Association write:

Why is there concern about mold in homes?

Mold growth in homes has not necessarily increased in recent years, but new court cases involving mold, sensationalistic media coverage and publication of questionable scientific research have increased public awareness of the issue.

On their website, packaging experts at the Paperboard Packaging Council offer their Industry Glossary. Definitions include:

basis weight: the specification of boxboard as density of weight per unit area. In the US it is measured as “pounds per thousand square feet,” and in Europe, as “grams per square meter”(gsm). It ranges from a light weight of 60 pounds per thousand square feet to as heavy as 200 pounds per thousand square feet in a single ply; however, any one machine is ordinarily not capable of making this complete range.

In his article Insurers: To Rescind Or Not to Rescind?, insurance expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

State insurance codes and legal precedents also have an impact on the insurer’s decision-making process concerning rescission.

For example, the California Insurance Code allows policy rescission even in cases of unintentional misrepresentation or unintentional concealment, and it provides that materiality is to be determined solely by the probable and reasonable influence of the facts on the insurer.

Tractors experts at TractorData.com explain Roll-Over Protective Structures (ROPS):

A roll-over protective structure (ROPS) is a frame designed to protect a tractor operator if the tractor rolls. ROPS acts by limiting most rolls to 90-degrees. In the case of a full roll-over, ROPS protects the operator from being crushed by the tractor. On tractors with loaders, the ROPS is often equipped with an overhead structure to prevent dropped object from hitting the operator, this is known as a falling-object protective structure (FOPS).

!is an internet tractor resource containing descriptions on over 6,000 models of tractors listed. You can use the Farm Tractors or Lawn Tractors links at the left of the homepage to browse a list of all tractor manufacturers. There are over 141 currently on the site. The search box will move directly to a specific tractor manufacturer’s information. Simply type the first few letters and then select the brand you want from the list.

Electronic evidence recovery expert witness Steven G. Burgess writes on: The Case for Electronic Discovery:

Document Creation and Storage

Microsoft Word is the leading word processing program for office computers. When a document is begun in Microsoft Word, three things happen:

Risk management expert witness Alan F. Shirek describes the job of the risk manager:

The “best in class” risk manager has a relationship with the CEO and meets periodically with the Board of Directors. The risk manager is respected for his or her knowledge, experience and ability to assist the organization in accomplishing its major goals while protecting assets, income stream and employees.

How does a risk management consultant add value to such an operation? Primarily by helping the risk manager solve problems that are beyond his or her level of direct experience and by taking on tasks requiring time that the risk manager does not have available.

In Truck/Tractor-trailer brakes and accident reconstruction, trucking expert witness
Robert Reed writes:

Compatibility is also an issue as older trucks pull newer trailers and newer trucks pull older trailers. This creates different issues for reconstruction. Load conditions, total weight, weather, environment, road and tire conditions, brake system maintenance, adjustment, capacity and capabilities must also be considered. These issues can produce conflicting data, cloud issues and render unfair judgments on the drivers/vehicles involved. Remember that since March 1999 trucks and buses with hydraulic brakes are ABS equipped and trucks with air brakes have ABS after March 1997 and air brake trailers have ABS after March 1, 1998. These are manufacture dates of the vehicles. Analyze all data carefully, identify systems properly to understand actions of the vehicles involved in the crash.

In his article Insurers: To Rescind Or Not to Rescind?, insurance agency expert witness Akos Swierkiewicz writes:

The insurer cannot reasonably rely on a fact received from the insured alone if it is aware of a conflicting fact.

• Did the insurer rely on it?

electronic evidence recovery expert witness Steven G. Burgess writes on: The Case for Electronic Discovery:

Nearly all documents created in offices these days begin their lives on a computer, as a computer file. Computer files are quite dynamic in nature. They change over time as they are accessed. Computer files are not immortal, but the act of deleting a file does not destroy it. Nonetheless, the very act of using a computer overwrites computer files. This document describes how documents are created, what happens to them after their creation or attempted destruction, and explains the following important points:

* Documents when deleted are not necessarily destroyed, and as such, may be recoverable by a professional computer forensics examiner.