In Malpractice Premiums Drop for 6th Straight Year, oncology expert witness Dr. Judy L. Schmidt writes:
Judging by 3 representative specialties, physicians in 2013 are once again experiencing relief on malpractice insurance premiums.
Collective rates for obstetrician-gynecologists, internists, and general surgeons fell on average for the sixth straight year in 2013, according to an annual premium survey released this week by Medical Liability Monitor (MLM).
What areas of the auto industry may automotive engineering expert witnesses consult on? They may provide reports concerning automobile defects, automotive technology, automotive components, and automobile design. In the news, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced record fines and unprecedented oversight requirements in its GM investigation…
Over the past ten years, NHTSA defect investigations resulted in 1,299 recalls involving more than 95 million vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment, which has helped the agency to reduce vehicle fatalities to historic, all-time lows. Including today’s consent order, the agency has obtained record fines of $124.5 million in the last five years from automakers who have failed to promptly report defects to NHTSA. NHTSA.com briefing room:
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced that General Motors (GM) has agreed to pay a record $35 million civil penalty and to take part in unprecedented oversight requirements as a result of findings from NHTSA’s timeliness investigation regarding the Chevrolet Cobalt and the automaker’s failure to report a safety defect in the vehicle to the federal government in a timely manner. The defect resulted in the non-deployment of airbags in certain Chevrolet Cobalt and other GM models. This action represents the single highest civil penalty amount ever paid as a result of a NHTSA investigation of violations stemming from a recall.
This week police in Beaverton, Oregon, arrested 17 year old swim coach Mitchell Alan Douglas Kelly who is accused of sexually abusing two young girls at the Sunset Athletic Club. The girls were taken from the pool area to another part of the facility, according to Sgt. Bob Ray. Investigators for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office are concerned there may be other victims.
In this type of case, child sexual abuse expert witnesses may testify regarding sexual misconduct, sexual molestation, and child sexual assault. These professionals may provide reports concerning sexual exploitation and statutory rape. On its website, The American Board of Pediatrics describes the child abuse pediatrics practice scope which includes:
Understand the commonly used definitions of child sexual abuse.
On his website, dviaviation.com, aviation and airports expert witness Steven J. Meyers, discusses pilot error. Mr. Meyers is an experienced aircraft accident investigator, and has work experience as an engineer, pilot, and mechanic.
Human beings are unpredictable as compared to physical evidence, and in the absence of cockpit or flight recorded data, investigators are left with evaluating human behavior from a percentage of likelihood. Most investigators typically lack adequate training to properly evaluate human behavior and performance, because there are such a large and diverse number of reasons that pilots can commit an error. Pilots make errors because they have not been adequately trained to perform tasks, or because they do not have the basic ability to perform the task even if they were trained. They commit errors because the task is beyond normal human abilities. They commit errors because they misinterpret information important to the performance of the task. They commit errors because some event occurring during the performance of the task changes the nature of the task in a way that they have never encountered. They also commit errors because of influences such as stress, distraction, fatigue, illness, visual illusions, spatial disorientation, old age, immaturity, and cultural beliefs. Pilot performance is also influenced or affected by such issues as cockpit design, temperature, altitude, physiology of the body, emotions, interactions, and communications.
Some common Human Factors issues related to piloting error can include:
On his website FAQ, business expert witness Richard Teichner, CPA, CVA, CDFAJ, describes the role of the forensic accountant serving as an expert witness.
When explaining complex financial analyses to the trier of fact, it is imperative that your expert witness is skilled at clearly and accurately explaining the details in a manner that can be easily understood. Expert witnesses also must be objective and utilize generally acceptable practices in order for their testimony to be credible and admissible.
How can a forensic accountant help my case?
Automotive engineering expert witnesses may consult regarding automobile defect, automotive technology, automobile design, and the auto industry. General Motors announced more recalls last week with a 2014 total so far at 48. The most recent recall covers 474,000 pickups and SUVs. US automakers have recalled 32.4 million vehicles in less than six months. GM said a software glitch can cause “the transfer case to electronically switch to neutral without input from the driver” on 2014 and 2015 models.
GM.com reports:
General Motors (GM: NYSE) today announced four safety recalls covering 428,211 vehicles in the United States.
Pyramid scheme expert witness Dr. William W. Keep was in the news this week urging SEC chief Mary Jo White to intensify the investigation of Herbalife. The FTC recently closed pyramid scheme BurnLounge, the New York City online music store and Dr. Keep, business dean of the College of New Jersey, recommended that multilevel marketing companies submit their enforcement policies to regulators every five years. Herbalife is a global nutrition company founded in 1980. The company has over 7,400 employees worldwide, and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange with net sales of $4.8 billion in 2013.
Herbalife.com commented on the recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in its decision in FTC v. BurnLounge, Inc. Herbalife issued the following statement:
Today’s decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the FTC v. BurnLounge, Inc. validates product consumption by participants as a legitimate measure of demand for multi-level marketing companies and rejects Bill Ackman’s fundamental thesis against Herbalife. This ruling from one of the country’s most influential courts is consistent with Herbalife’s position that the widespread demand Herbalife has demonstrated for its products, by members and non-members alike, confirms that it is a multi-level marketing company with proper business practices.
In Evaluating and Understanding Credit Damage, credit damage expert witness Doug Minor writes:
One of the first steps is to examine the credit score itself. This seemingly straightforward action can become complex very quickly, as there are often numerous reports, with scores from multiple sources. So, a consumer will many times have a number of credit scores, each reflecting the data and scoring criteria of its source. Understanding the different features of each type of score and report is an important evaluation skill that an expert should have to accurately quantify credit damages.
For example, is the score a FICO score, or a Vantage score? Is the report a business-to-business (B2B), or a business-to-consumer (B2C) product? Was it a residential mortgage credit report (RMCR), or a three repository merged credit report (TRMCR)? When was the report produced? All of these are typical questions that an evaluator will ask, and in most cases they are necessary.
Dentistry expert witness Dr. Gary Pearl testified on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Public Health in the case against Dr. Rashmi Patel. State health officials are trying to permanently revoke Patel’s dental license after the death of Judith Gan. Gan died an hour after getting implants and 20 teeth extracted in Patel’s office. During the procedures, the retired librarian’s vital signs dropped and dental assistants asked him to stop. By the time 911 was called, Gan had no brain waves or heartbeat.
While Dr. Patel says he did nothing wrong, state health officials suspended his license in April. Dr. Pearl testified “It’s my belief that (Gan) did not have to die to receive this dental treatment and it is because of… Patel’s negligence that she died.”
In 2013 a male patient was being treated for an extraction that resulted in a six day hospital stay for heart and lung damage. The patient’s throat pack was sucked into his lungs.
In Trade Secret Misappropriation of Software, trade secrets expert witness Gary Stringham writes on his blog:
A trade secret is something that provides an advantage to the company that owns it. It could be formulas, software, even lists of names. A trade secret is not disclosed publicly (unlike a patent).
If a company wishes to mark something a trade secret, it must proactively take action to protect those secrets. Employees of the company should have signed an agreement to keep secret company confidential information. If the trade secret needs to be disclosed to non-employees, those people need to first sign non-disclosure agreements.
