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Are skiiers responsible for the injuries they suffer? Kenny Salvini, 23, became paralyzed from the neck down after a jump in 2004 at the Summit on Snoqualmie, WA. Nine days later ski instructor Peter Melrose died at the foot of the same jump. Jasper Shealy, skiing and snowboarding expert witness defends the ski industry. Seattlepi.com reports:

In 2007, a King County jury found the Summit at Snoqualmie liable for just less than half of Salvini’s pain, suffering and lasting paralysis, levying $14 million in damages against the ski area. The judgment — described by one group representing ski areas as a “runaway jury verdict” — came as a shock to the industry, which, in the past two decades, has largely received legal protection from skiers hurt on the hills. Jasper Shealy, a retired engineering professor often hired as an expert witness by the ski industry, called the assertion that ski area managers can design safer jumps “a naive notion.” Salvini’s injuries were unfortunate but, Shealy contended, occurred because he hit the jump too fast. In Shealy’s view, suggested engineered fixes underestimate a skier’s impact of flight and the variability of snow.

“The problem here is you’re not dealing with something like steel or iron or concrete. You’re dealing with a very malleable, changeable substance,” said Shealy, speaking from his Rochester, N.Y., office. “Even if we had some magic formula — and frankly I don’t believe there is one — within a day or two the jump is likely to be very different.”

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The number of deaths in rollover crashes has climbed with the popularity of SUVs and other light trucks whose relatively high centers of gravity increases the chance of rollovers. While some carmakers have denied any connection between roof strength and passenger safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study Wednesday that suggests the opposite. Carl Nash, a former NHTSA official who works as an accident and safety expert witness in rollover cases against car companies says automakers “build cars as if the roof is never going to touch the ground.” Newsday.com also reports:

In its tests, the institute said, the differences among the 11 vehicles were dramatic. For example, it said, when a Nissan Xterra and Ford Explorer, both 2000 models, were subjected to a crushing force of up to 10,000 pounds, the Nissan’s roof crushed about two inches, while the Explorer’s deformed 10 inches, “caving far into the occupant compartment even before reaching 10,000 pounds of force.”

Other vehicles tested and studied included the 1996-2004 Chevrolet Blazer, 2002-05 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, 1998-2003 Dodge Durango, 2002-04 Ford Explorer, 1996-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1999-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2002-05 Jeep Liberty, 1997-2004 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, and 1996-2000 Toyota 4Runner.

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In A Look at Art Experts’ Liabilities John Dratz Jr. discusses the appraisal and valuation expert witness’s role in authenticating and appraising works of art. This excerpt discusses defamation cases.

Defamation actions protect the aggrieved party’s name as opposed to his or her purely economic interests. As with disparagement, the statement must be false and published to a person other than the plaintiff. The defamatory statement must also be of a purported fact that can be objectively verified. Thus, a television news report implying that an art dealer knowingly sold stolen candelabra to the de Young Museum is a defamatory statement capable of being objectively determined to be true or false. (Weller v. American Broadcasting Cos., 232 Cal. App. 3d 991 (1991).)

As in other actions based on defamation, the public or private nature of the matter affects the burden of proof. Artists as a rule assume the status of public figures by placing their art in the public eye, and to prevail a plaintiff would be required to prove that the defendant’s statement regarding the artist was “substantially false.” (Weller, 232 Cal. App. 3d at 1010.) However , if the allegedly defamatory statement centered on a private matter – such as a purely contractual relationshiop between artists or between artists and dealers – then the defendant would have the burden of proving its truth. (See Polygram Records, Inc. v. Superior Court, 170 Cal.App. 3d 543 (1985).)

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Safety advocates have long argued that SUV roofs crush too easily in rollover crashes and cause avoidable deaths. About 10,000 deaths a year occur in rollovers. The numbers have climbed with the rise in popularity of SUVs and other light trucks, whose relatively high centers of gravity increased the chances of rollovers. While some carmakers have denied any connection between roof strength and passenger safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study Wednesday that suggests the opposite. Carl Nash, a former NHTSA official who works as an accident and safety expert witness in rollover cases against car companies says automakers “build cars as if the roof is never going to touch the ground.”

NHTSA hasn’t upgraded its standard for roof strength since 1971but this about to change. Newsday.com writes:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is scheduled to increase vehicle roof strength requirements this summer for the first time since 1973 for passenger cars and since 1994 for light trucks. The current minimum mandates that cars and light trucks be able to support of 1 1/2 times the vehicle’s weight in a roll over crash without deforming more than five inches, and that requirement could change to 2 1/2 times their weight.

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JurisPro, the national expert witness directory built by practicing attorneys, is now directly accessible through the internal network of 12 of the top 20 law firms in the US. The newest firm to take advantage of JurisPro’s database of experts in over 4500 fields of expertise is Sidley & Austin LLP, the #5 law firm in the United States. With 1800 lawyers, Sidley has annual revenues of more than one billion dollars and offices in 16 cities worldwide.

At JurisPro, you can read and the expert’s full CV, see their photo, hear the expert speak, learn their background as an expert witness, read their articles, access that expert’s website, and contact that expert by phone, mail, fax, or e-mail. There are no charges to use JurisPro, and no referral fees.

An interesting Sidley & Austin bit of history:

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Ever wonder and/or worry about what would happen if your car was stolen? Rob Painter, forensic locksmith, automotive expert witness, and principal of Rob Painter & Associates, can tell you. He writes:

It’s a common occurrence especially now with the factory anti-theft systems for the insurance company to assign an examination of the reported stolen vehicle to a forensic locksmith. His purpose is to check for forced entry and to determine if the vehicle was key operated last. They will assemble what they call a “Forensic Report” on the vehicle and will commonly use general statements like “The last time the vehicle was operated was with a key of the proper type.”

Sounds good, but let’s look at this in further depth. “Proper type” could be anything that will operate the lock. It could be a pick, a duplicate key or no key at all. The reason the term “proper” is used is that I believe this does not lock the forensic locksmith into an exact statement, although the terminology infers the last time the vehicle was operated was with nothing other than the insured’s key. Now if the scientific process was used and all hypotheses have been eliminated, the examiner should be able to state that the last time the vehicle operated under its own power was with a key of exacting cuts coinciding with the ignition lock cylinder.

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In A Look at Art Experts’ Liabilities John Dratz Jr. discusses the appraisal and valuation expert witness’s role in authenticating and appraising works of art.

A thriving international art market has led to an equally robust industry of art authenicators and appraisers. But as recent court cases illustrate, people holding themselves out as such experts may face liabillty under an increasing number of theories when their opinions are challenged…

The most common theory on which to base a case against an art authenticator or appraiser is negligence. Such claims require proof that the defendant failed to provide a reasonable level of care to a plaintiff to which it was owed. This duty could arise from a contractual relationship between the plaintiff and the authenticator or appraiser in a number of different situations.

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In Test to Spot Liars Takes Center Stage in Personal Injury Cases Debra Cassens Weiss writes for the ABA Journal on personal injury expert witnesses using the “Fake Bad Scale”:

Expert witnesses are citing a test designed to spot those who are faking their pain in hundreds of court cases, prompting debate about its reliability.

The so-called Fake Bad Scale was added to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory last year, leading to its increasing use by expert witnesses in personal injury cases, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). The MMPI is often used to diagnose and treat patients at mental-health facilities.

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A Los Angeles prosecutor told the court this week that Anthony Pellicano masterminded a “thriving criminal enterprise” that used illegal wiretapping and bribery to solve the legal problems of Hollywood’s rich and famous. Pellicano is accused of running a criminal service that bugged phones and bribed police and telephone workers to run illegal background checks. Pellicano has been refused bail and is representing himself. Ironically, before his indictment, Pellicano was often called on by law enforcement as an audio expert witness on recordings. The Telegraph reports:

“Primarily what I did was to serve clients in problem solving,” the investigator said in his opening statement.

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The leading expert witness for National Century Financial Enterprises executives accused of the nation’s largest private fraud also had talked with the FBI about fraudulent business at the company. Computer expert witness Bryant testified about work he did analyzing National Century’s computer system. Crashes in nine of the company’s hard drives, discovered years after National Century filed for bankruptcy, made it impossible for anyone to make conclusions about the company’s data, Bryant told the jury. But Bryant also had met with the FBI and handed over National Century documents he had secretly stored at his house. He did not disclose that to defense attorneys before federal Judge Algenon L. Marbley declared him an “expert witness” for the defense. Dispatch.com also writes:

Former National Century executives Parrett, Ayers, James E. Dierker, Roger S. Faulkenberry and Randolph H. Speer are charged with fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.