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National Medical Consultants represents a panel of over 1900 distinguished specialists in all areas of medicine including birth defects expert witnesses. In Medical malpractice liability reform-no easy task experts at National Medical Consultants continue from January 1st blog:

Modifying the collateral source rule. A second approach to medical liability reform that a number of states adopt is modifying the collateral source rule. Intact, the collateral source rule prohibits defendants from introducing information at trial or during negotiation for the purpose of off setting the damages awarded by asserting that the plaintiff may have received compensation from another source (eg, worker’s compensation, another Insurer). (5)

Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont permit consideration of collateral source payments received by the patient when damages are awarded in medical malpractice cases. (6) Proponents of this type of reform argue that “[w]hen a plaintiff receives compensation from their insurance company and again at trial, the Insurance proceeds do not represent actual compensation for an Individual’s injuries, but rather a source of windfall.”

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National Medical Consultants represents a panel of over 1900 distinguished specialists in all areas of medicine including perinatal injuries care expert witnesses. In Medical malpractice liability reform-no easy task experts at National Medical Consultants continue from January 1st blog:

Only 13 states still use the combined form of the joint and several liability doctrine for medical malpractice cases. (3) Many states that have modified the doctrine will enforce joint and several liability, however, when the health care provider is found to have acted “in concert with others” or with “intentional malice” or when the health care provider’s acts attributed to more than 50% of the harm. (3) Additionally, states such as California and Ohio apply joint and several liability to only the economic portion of the damages and not to the noneconomic portion. (3)

One rationale for maintaining the original application of joint and several liability is to protect patients from having to bring cases against every health care provider who participated in the act that resulted in harm. (10) Conversely, the rationale for modifying the joint and several liability rule is to decrease the number of additional court cases that will result when the single defendant attempts to recover damages from the other health care providers involved. In addition, although joint and several liability may encourage defendants to settle out of court to avoid being found responsible for the entire damage award, proponents of the rule-modification strategy contend that “it has had the effect of turning lawsuits into all out searches to find the most financially lucrative defendants.”

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National Medical Consultants represents a panel of over 1900 distinguished specialists in all areas of medicine including birth trauma expert witnesses. In Medical malpractice liability reform-no easy task experts at National Medical Consultants continue from the December 15th blog entry:

For example, Alaska, California, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia laws prohibit a patient from receiving more than $250,000 for noneconomic damages. (3) One rationale behind noneconomic damage caps is that because such damages are extremely difficult to quantify, a jury often will inflate the award to the injured patient. In turn, such awards are believed to increase the costs associated with medical malpractice insurance (eg, increased medical insurance premiums that then create increased health care costs).

Other states, including Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Virginia, have laws that apply in all injury-related cases, medical liability Included, that cap the monetary amount that an injured patient can receive for all damages, both economic (eg, lost wages) and noneconomic. (4) Further, a number of states have adopted laws that restrict the amount of and the conditions under which monetary damages are awarded to punish the health care provider for a “wanton disregard of [patient] safety” (ie, punitive damages).

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In Procedures for Evaluating Bathing Facility Slip and Fall Accidents, accident investigation expert witness Melvin M. Friedlander, P.E. writes:

Bathing facility slip and fall injuries are a significant part of the great number of slip and fall accidents that occur each year in the United States. As a consequence, they are an important factor in personal injury allegations in both litigation and insurance claims. One of the key problems faced both by attorneys and insurance adjustors, however, is sufficient proof that the facility at which the accident took place was inherently dangerous and not caused by any inappropriate action on the part of the injured. And the key suspect in the search of this proof is the slip resistance of the surface of the bathtub or shower.

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Professional engineering expert witnesses may opine on ISO 9000. Here is a summary of ISO9000 from the ISO9000 Council.

Section 5: Measurement, Analysis and Improvement

The last section of the ISO 9001:2008 standard closes the loop by providing requirements for measurement and monitoring activities, so that the company can immediately identify when not on track. Measurement and monitoring activities also include internal audits and the monitoring of customer perception as to whether the company has fulfilled customer requirements. All of these activities must be defined, planned and implemented. Measuring and monitoring allows the company to manage by fact, not by guess.

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Ohio Licking County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Marcelain ordered C-TEC to pay $3.8 million in damages for uncompensated work to a Newark company in favor of Claggett & Sons Inc. Marcelain also ordered both sides back into court to address punitive damages and attorney fees, costs that could push the cash-strapped Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County’s bill much higher. Claggett attorneys also intend to seek interest for the company’s damages accrued since 2006. “None of the defendant’s architecture expert witnesses realized this was the method in which the building was constructed,” Marcelain wrote.

“The architect took advantage of the lack of knowledge of C-TEC in construction methods,” Marcelain wrote as he described problems such as ventilation pipes designed to go through a steel beam near the roof. The judge wrote that C-TEC’s witnesses, especially its architects, were not credible and that Claggett demonstrated construction delays were not its fault. He also noted board members were not aware the project was 90 percent complete and school largely occupied when they voted to fire Claggett.

For more, see newarkadvocate.com.

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In The Need for Appraisals, appraisal expert witness Joel Forman of JLF Appraisal Services writes:

Starting in January 2011, the first wave of baby boomers will start retiring. For the next eighteen years, children born between 1946 and 1964 will be joining their older siblings and cousins to enjoy the golden years. Many individuals accumulated substantial estates. Some have impressive values. With both federal and state governments having dire cash flow problems, the need to have one’s affairs in order is more important than ever. JLF Appraisal Services is constantly amazed how many people don’t have wills, trusts or a DNR. When the courts are faced with an estate where the property owner died intestate, judges have been known to make arbitrary decisions that often go against the spoken wishes of the deceased. In addition, often there are constant family fights over the estate. This is especially true among the siblings, each person claiming the first right of refusal for all property.

As accredited appraisers, JLF Appraisal Services sees many estates that are ill-prepared for an orderly resolution. Most heirs have no idea what the estate properties are worth. More often than not, emotions overrule intellect. We highly that recommend individuals who are retired, or near retirement, work with their lawyers and tax consultants to ensure their wishes are followed. This is especially true when the will/trust specifies equitable distribution among the heirs, certain property donated to charity, and to trust funds for the future education of grandchildren and great grandchildren. The best way to get started, to ensure your wishes are followed, is to contact your attorney and financial advisor.

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GMAC Inc. has appealed a federal jury’s November verdict that it pay $4 million in damages to Donald M. Mente, whose Kutztown auto dealerships GMAC suddenly shut down in July 2007. In federal court filings, GMAC is asking U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez to order a new trial, arguing he improperly allowed Mente’s finance expert witnesses to testify at trial and improperly prohibited GMAC’s expert rebuttal witnesses.

In response, however, Mente’s attorneys said their witnesses were proper and GMAC missed several deadlines imposed by the judge to name its own expert witnesses. GMAC, once the auto-financing arm of General Motors Corp., now is a stand-alone bank offering many types of financing. On July 19, 2007, GMAC accused the dealerships – Mente Chevrolet in Richmond Township and Mente Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Maxatawny Township – of being in default to GMAC for the cars Mente bought from the automakers.

Rather than allow the dealerships to sell the cars at full price, GMAC immediately auctioned them off at reduced prices, causing the dealerships to go into foreclosure and 77 people to lose their jobs, according to trial testimony. The expert witnesses were used to summarize auto dealership financing practices and the value of the dealerships at that time.

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Insurance expert William S. Custer, Ph.D. writes on a black hole in health insurance:

Many of my fellow boomers have lost jobs during the recession. But the chances of our landing a new position with good benefits appear as steep as winning a lottery. And we tend to have more health conditions than younger people. “They are the most vulnerable of the uninsured,” says the health insurance expert at at Georgia State University. This group has more health needs, he adds, and “if laid off, they have a harder time finding a similar job.”

“The individual insurance market has never been very good,” says Cheryl Matheis, an AARP senior vice president. “It has become increasingly discriminatory” as insurers cherry-pick only the healthiest individuals, Matheis adds. Reform will greatly help people 50 and older, she says, by eliminating these insurance company practices.

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Professional engineering expert witnesses may opine on ISO 9000. Here is a summary of ISO9000 from the ISO9000 Council.

Section 4: Product Realization

The ISO 9001:2008 standard defines Product Realization as “that sequence of processes and sub processes required to achieve the product.” This is how your product is designed, produced, tested, handled, shipped, etc. This section also applies to service providers. Emphasis is placed on how the company understands, communicates and actually meets customer requirements. This section also contains various requirements for the design of products and for the planning of processes, projects and services.

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