Expert Witness Blog

Allegations of medical malpractice are common in anesthesiology because problems are common and the resulting outcome for the patient is often poor. In surgery, the anesthetic is often more dangerous to the patient than the knife. Medical indemnity premiums for anesthesiologists are usually higher than other specialties. Death can result from any problem with anesthetics because there is little room for error. When a problem occurs, the anesthesiology expert witness can opine on situations where the patient reacted poorly. These expert witnesses can testify on pediatric anesthesia, general anesthesia, spinal anesthetics, and nerve blocks.

The Forensic Expert Witness Association has filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court supporting a petition for review of the Lambert v. Carneghi decision (Case No. S 160995), which could allow litigants to sue their expert witnesses if the testimony is not favorable to the client. LivePR.com writes:

FEWA believes the decision may undermine an expert’s ability to be impartial and may create a bias against providing honest and forthright opinions in a court of law.

“The appellate court decision places experts giving testimony in California in an untenable position by forcing them to act as advocates for their client’s litigation arguments rather than serving their intended role of providing unbiased testimony,” said Lyle E. Coe, FEWA president. “It also would create extraordinary pressure on experts to slant or shade testimony, perhaps to the point of exaggerating or distorting the expert’s true opinions.”

Mary Jo McGrath, a child sexual abuse expert witness says California legislators should have the courage to hold school districts and other public agencies accountable for the actions of their employees by passing SB 1339. The expert witness is former chair of the U.S. Department of Education’s Expert Panel on Safe and Drug-Free Schools and author of extensive training programs for school districts to raise awareness of sexual misconduct in schools, and to teach them proper complaint intake and investigation techniques. PR.com writes:

The bill under consideration extends the statute of limitations on the California Tort Claims Act relative to sexual abuse of students until the victim’s 26th birthday. Currently, the act requires a lawsuit to be filed within six months of the precipitating event. The amendment, proposed by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and passed by the judiciary committee, extends to public school students the same access to legal redress currently given to students in private schools, and importantly, gives school districts a reason to vigilantly protect students from such abuse, McGrath says.

A legal nurse consultant expert witness can identify the relevant standards a medical expert witness’s testimony should adhere to and then prepare questions targeting those aspects in the case. A qualified LNC can also provide the coaching an expert witness needs to provide an objective testimony. The LNC acting as an expert witness consultant is instrumental in:

1) The selection of qualified physician experts

2) Selection of qualified nursing experts

Roofing expert witnesses can testify and report on troublesome and costly roofing problems which are often the result of faulty initial design. Design deficiencies are costly to correct and may require roof replacement. Expert witnesses can help you discover and testify on:
1) Inadequate roof slope, sagging roof structure, or insufficient number or location of drains 2) Inadequate provision for expansion and contraction on decks
3) Incompatible roof materials

Psychiatrist Jerald Block of Portland writes in The American Journal of Psychiatry that internet addiction should be included in the next version of DSM. The condition is characterised by excessive use of the internet, anger or depression if computer access is lost, poor achievement and social isolation. Dr. Block writes:

Conceptually, the diagnosis is a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder that involves online and/or offline computer usage and consists of at least three subtypes: excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations, and e-mail/text messaging. All of the variants share the following four components: 1) excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives, 2) withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible, 3) tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and 4) negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue.

In South Korea the average high-schooler spends over 20 hours a week gaming which has prompted the government to train 1000 counsellors to help the 200,000 children believed to be affected.

A neurology expert witness is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the central nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves in the body. Diseases and conditions these expert witnesses can testify on include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), various forms of dementia, sleep disorders, headaches, brain tumors, strokes, seizures, myasthenia gravis, and chronic pain.

Look for a neurology expert witness who can assess medical records for Standard of Care issues, review medical records and/or examine a patient, identify future medical needs and costs, and present information and analysis in an easily understood manner.

In Sensitive Electronic Communications – Introduction – So what’s the big deal?, Steve Lombardi tells us “Any time information is transmitted via a wireless technology or over the Internet the attorney-client privilege may and can be breached.”

What keeps most of us feeling safe is ignorance. And for the most part we have been safe because there are few parties who care to go to the trouble and expense to intercept wireless communications. As the information being transmitted becomes more valuable; then the parties willing to go to the expense and risk of gathering those wireless communications naturally increase.

When taking on a lawsuit regarding wireless communications, networking expert witnesses can help. These experts can provide reports and opine on computer networks, wireless technologies, telecommunications, and more.

In Fractography of Metals and Plastics, polymers expert witness Ronald J. Parrington, P.E. writes on materials failures:

The application of engineering materials is unavoidably accompanied by the occurrence of failures, many of which have been catastrophic. The consequences of material failures; including deaths, financial losses and legal ramifications; have encouraged the development of effective failure analysis methods. Although the cost of failure analysis may exceed the value of the part, the cost of service failures usually far exceeds the cost of failure analysis. Many of the techniques utilized over the years for the evaluation of metals have been successfully applied to plastics with only minor modifications…

Fractography is arguably the most valuable tool available to the failure analyst. Fractography, a term coined in 1944 to describe the science of examining fracture surfaces, has actually been utilized for centuries as part of the field of metallurgy. When material failure involves actual breakage, fractography can be employed to identify the fracture origin, direction of crack propagation, failure mechanism, material defects, environmental interaction, and the nature of stresses.