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A $3 million study blaming a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee on a complex combination of structural and geologic factors is wrong, says an engineering expert witness who evaluated the disaster for his own mining and utility clients. Though no one was injured, the disaster was one of the worst of its kind in the US and has brought new attention to the risks and lack of regulation of coal ash storage sites around the country. TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, estimates it could take years and up to $1 billion to clean up the mess. Residents fear lingering environmental harm.

Barry Thacker, who has been designing hydraulic-fill structures similar to the Kingston Fossil Plant landfill for 30 years. In a report shared with regulators, the expert witness concludes the Dec. 22 breach that sent 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic-laden muck into the Emory River and a lakeside neighborhood about 40 miles west of Knoxville occurred because of an undiagnosed and preventable buildup of water pressure against a perimeter clay dike.

Thacker doesn’t agree with the more exotic conclusion of Tennessee Valley Authority consultant AECOM USA Inc. last month that the spill was due to several factors in and under a mountainous dredge cell upstream of the dike, including liquifying soils and a deep, unknown, unstable layer of silt and ash dubbed “slimes.”

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In Virginia last week Ben W. Hunter, 42, now of Phoenix, Ariz., was found not guilty on all but two of 32 charges which included 13 counts of distributing steroids and 13 counts of distributing drugs to a minor. The former wrestling coach had also been charged with selling drugs on or near school property, distributing drugs and abuse and neglect of a child. Dr. James Shipe, a researcher in athletic drug testing at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, was called as a drug abuse expert witness in the case.

“Traditionally, testing originated for Olympic athletes,” the expert witness explained after the case. “All tests were developed using a witnessed urine test as the specimen” because, he added, some athletes from various countries had religious or moral protests to drawing blood samples.

Hunter faces sentencing for one felony count of failure to appear and one misdemeanor county of failure to appear on October 30 in Lancaster County Circuit Court. His attorney, James Broccoletti of Norfolk, requested a pre-sentencing report be prepared for the hearing.

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In How Long An Arm? automotive expert witness Richard O. Neville writes:

Can a state law prohibiting direct sales to consumers by a manufacturer have an extra-territorial reach into another state? The Fourth Circuit has said it cannot. The case involved a Volvo and GM truck dealer, Carolina Trucks & Equipment, Inc. (CT&E) which found itself in an out-of-trust situation in 2002 with its floor plan lender, Volvo Commercial Finance (VCF). Later, after termination of its dealer agreement, the dealer settled with VCF. It had also sued Volvo Trucks North America, the manufacturer; one of its complaints was that VTNA was selling used trucks direct through its Arrow Truck Sales unit (although specifically permitted by its dealer agreement)….

The court quoted from the Dealers Act: a manufacturer “may not sell, directly or indirectly, a motor vehicle to a consumer in this State”2 except through the franchises that manufacturers are generally prohibited from owning themselves. Commenting on the ambiguity of the phrase “in this state,” the court did not find that it gave the state’s laws extraterritorial reach, and that “…state laws may not generally operate extraterritorially…” To find otherwise, the court went on, would raise constitutional Commerce Clause issues. Arrow’s advertising, the court held, was an “even more tenuous link between South Carolina and Arrow’s sales in Atlanta…” To find otherwise would be to ban out-of-state advertising of goods and services.

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David Tuffin of the firm Tuffin, Ferraby, & Taylor writes In my expert opinion: How to pick an expert witness

Expert witnesses can make or break a case, so it’s vital to pick exactly the right (independent, knowledgeable and impressive) person for the job. With the construction industry seeing a significant rise in litigation and conflict there is going to be an increase in demand for reliable expert witnesses called in by lawyers to either help defend or support their clients’ cases.

The biggest challenge facing those selecting an expert witness is how to ensure that the person they call upon is going to help and not hinder the case. Often the evidence the expert provides can make or break a case and therefore choosing the right person is of utmost importance.

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A Maryland state psychiatry expert witness believes Victoria Adele Sparrow knew what she was doing was wrong and is therefore guilty of first-degree murder when she poisoned her 3-year-old daughter and then tried to kill herself. Psychiatric experts – one employed by the state and the other hired by the defense – are set to testify on July 20 in Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court in Centreville. They will be the only witnesses, attorneys said. Sparrow, 43, waived her right to a jury trial Tuesday and agreed to let Judge Thomas G. Ross determine if she was “criminally responsible” for her actions inside her home on Dec. 18.

Defense attorney Peter S. O’Neill filed a motion earlier this year claiming his client was not fit to stand trial. He hired a medical expert who determined that Sparrow would be able to assist in her defense. That expert, however, did not believe Sparrow was sane at the time of the killing. Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Lance Richardson said a state psychiatrist does not agree with the defense’s medical expert.

Excerpted from HometownAnnapolis.com.

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On Wednesday, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge threw out a $2 million judgment that a 19th Judicial District Court jury had awarded former UL football coach Jerry Baldwin in 2007. In that case, Baldwin claimed racial discrimination by the university, the UL Board of Supervisors and former athletic director Nelson Schexnayder for his firing after the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 2001 season.

Baldwin claimed breach of contract, discrimination and emotional distress, and the racially-balanced jury – six white, six black – voted 10-2 to award Baldwin $500,000 for general damages and emotional distress, $600,000 for lost wages and $900,000 for future lost wages. The jury heard from the plaintiff’s sports expert witness who said Baldwin’s firing cost him the chance to coach professionally in the NFL, and hence the $900,000 award for future lost wages.

Excerpted from NewOrleans.com.

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Obstetrics expert witness Dr. Robert Winston says women who freeze their eggs to delay motherhood are being given false hope by some fertility clinics. Winston says there is no guarantee and he believes that some clinics that offer services for healthy women to freeze eggs – at a cost of thousands of dollars – are guilty of an “expensive confidence trick”.

Winston says there is no guarantee that women would go on to have children or that any babies they did conceive would be completely healthy. CourierMail.com reports:

An increasing number of IVF clinics are now offering to harvest and freeze eggs – at a cost of about $10,000 a time – for healthy women. The expert has warned of the dangers of expensive and unreliable fertility treatments and has called for a curb on clinics offering freezing for non-medical reasons until more research is carried out.

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The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on James P. Chasse Jr. after he died in police custody says Chasse suffered 46 separate abrasions or contusions on his body, including six to the head and 19 strikes to the torso. Chasse, 42, who suffered from schizophrenia, died in police custody on Sept. 17, 2006. Two Portland officers, Officer Christopher Humphreys and Sgt. Kyle Nice, and then-Multnomah County sheriff’s deputy Bret Burton struggled to arrest Chasse after one of the officers said he appeared to be urinating on a city street. Police said he ran when they approached. They chased him, knocked him to the ground and struggled to handcuff him.

The medical expert witness said fractures to Chasse’s rear ribs also likely did not result from Chasse getting knocked to the ground or someone falling on top of him, but more likely resulted from a kick or knee-drop. Police procedures expert witness Lou Reiter, a retired Los Angeles police deputy chief hired by Chasse’s family, said in a statement filed in court that the officers used excessive force through “impact strikes,” kicking and using their knees once Chasse was on the ground.

Excerpted from OregonLive.com.

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The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was signed into law in December 2007, giving owners of public pools until December 2008 to comply with the new pool drain safety requirements. This law applies to all pre-existing public and semi-public pools and to any new pools (public or private) built after December 2008. Pool expert David Morrill, President of Pool Resolution Consulting, Inc., says “Even a very small filter pump can create sufficient suction power to trap a person underwater or cause fatal injuries . At the very least hotel and apartment management should immediately install temporary fixes so a tragic accident does not occur at your AAA destination.”

If you currently have a non-compliant drain system in your public or semi-public pool or spa, the law applies. All commercial, public or semi-public pools are required to install approved two drain systems with covers that qualify under ANSI/ASME A112.19.8-2007 code or comply using other approved alternates such as:

* Install an approved “unblockable” channel drain * Disable the drain, or convert it from a suction line to a pool return * Install a Safety Vacuum Release System

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Pathology expert witness Dr. Janice Ophoven testified Tuesday in the trial of Amy Dierks, the Sioux Falls day care provider accused of shaking a six-month-old child into a coma-like state in November 2007. In reviewing the Baby Henry Johnson case, she told jurors she doesn’t believe Dierks abused the child; rather Ophoven believes he had a stroke and seizures. The expert witness told the jury she reviewed Henry Johnson’s medical records and reports and believes the child showed preexisting symptoms and conditions before he was hospitalized. She went on to say he showed no signs of trauma or abuse.

“The child was having a stroke with signs and symptoms that appeared a week earlier,” Dr. Ophoven said. Prosecutors recalled Dr. Ed Mailloux to the stand, who disagreed with many of Dr. Ophoven’s statements and stood by Baby Henry’s head trauma diagnosis. The prosecution plans to call one more rebuttal witness Wednesday morning before closing statements and the case is turned over to the jury.

Excerpted from Keloland.com.