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Child abuse expert witness Dr. James Lukefahr testified in the case against Matthew Aranda following the death of Aranda’s adopted daughter Melody Velasquez, 3. Aranda claims that she accidentally fell down a flight of stairs but medical experts have testified that the death was a homicide. Dr. Lukefahr, director of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, told the jury “If someone or something could cause her to be thrown or pushed down the staircase at a very high rate of speed, then that conceivably (could) cause some of those fatal injuries that she had.” Melody suffered broken limbs, ribs, multiple bruises and head injuries.

The professor of pediatrics testified recently before the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities in San Antonio, TX. He presented statistics showing that in 2013 Texas had 156 child abuse and neglect deaths. In 2011 there were 231, and 280 in 2009.

The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities held its first public meeting this week at the University of Texas, San Antonio on June 2-3, 2014. CECANF was established by Public Law 112-275 (112th Congress), the Protect Our Kids Act of 2012, to develop a national strategy and recommendations for reducing fatalities across the country resulting from child abuse and neglect. The meeting in San Antonio was the first opportunity for Commission members to gather detailed information and insight related to federal policy, research, and practice associated with child abuse and neglect fatalities, with a practice focus on Texas.

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In Evaluating and Understanding Credit Damages, credit damage expert witness Doug Minor writes:

Credit damage is a somewhat new field of expertise, and many attorneys and consumers have not yet been exposed to its potential and importance. But this is changing, as more and more cases demonstrate that such damage can indeed be quantified. Credit damages can pertain in a variety of cases: divorce, wrongful foreclosure, personal injury, breach of contract, identity theft, fraud, and medical malpractice, to name a few.

Now more than ever before, award amounts include compensation for credit damage. And as my own experience has confirmed, the amounts can easily reach well into the six-figure range. Thus, the competence of the experts retained in such cases is important.

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Business expert witnesses may consult on joint ventures, shareholder disputes, financial fraud and business damages. Bruce Dubinsky, Managing Director in Duff & Phelps’ Dispute Consulting practice and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Regent, will be a featured speaker and present a session titled “Preparing for Civil Litigation in a Fraud Examination” at the 25th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference in San Antonio, TX, being held June 15-20, 2014. Bruce will share his real-world experience serving as an expert in the fraud examination field, including testifying in the “Madoff 5” criminal trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the fraud examiner for the United States Department of Justice.

Attendees will also learn how to:

Manage the case discovery process from the expert and client perspective Successfully write an expert report to convey your opinion Testify effectively at trial or deposition to illustrate your view

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Gun range expert witness Albert Rodriguez testified that the County Line Shooting Center, San Marcos, TX, was built in the wrong place and is a “major threat to human life.” Rodriguez is a former Texas Department of Public Safety gun range master and testified that hundreds of bullets have been fired onto neighboring property. Property owners filed a lawsuit to have the range shut down or brought up to safety standards.

In Outdoor Shooting Range Best Practices, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources describes specifications for the shooting range backstop.

A backstop is a device constructed to stop or re-direct bullets fired on a range A backstop is the key component providing range safety and use for people in the area in and beyond a rifle or pistol range. Current NRA and NSSF safety philosophies are predicated toward range self-containment of shot rounds, i.e., “if it’s shot here, keep it here.” A properly constructed backstop at a rifle and/or pistol range are usually constructed out of a core material of compacted soil, rock or crushed cement, covered by rock-free earthen material, up to a recommended height of twenty (20) feet at a 1:1 slope (soil type dependent), with a 4 foot-wide flat top. Backstop width will be dependent upon the numbers of shooting stations the range operator wants installed at the firing line.

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In Failure to Supervise: An Inside Perspective, securities expert witness Alan Besnoff, Securities Expert Witness & Litigation Support, LLC, writes:

What are the steps that a Supervising Principal can and should take to assure adherence to FINRA regulations, the highest of ethical standards, and Supervisory duties are being met?

It is my belief that it is most important for the Supervising Principal to develop and maintain a culture of absolute adherence to FINRA regulations, company compliance guidelines, and the highest of ethical standards. To accomplish this desired culture, the Supervising Principal must always be consistent in his or her dealings with brokers and in demonstrating such a mindset in all of the Principal’s behaviors, actions, and policies and procedures.

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Allergy and immunology experts may consult on issues involving asthma, allergic reactions, indoor environment, and drug allergies, among other topics. On his website allergy expert witness Dr. Ronald H. Saff, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee and principal at the Allergy & Asthma Diagnostic Treatment Center, answers questions on allergy skin tests:

How are skin tests done?

There are several different types of allergy tests. Most allergy skin tests are “scratch tests” – the skin is scratched with a small plastic “pick” which has a drop of the specific allergen on the end. It is irritating and can burn and or itch; it is not painful. Scratch tests do not involve needles or blood. The scratching may take only seconds or take a couple of minutes depending on what you are being tested for. Once the scratching is done we wait 15-20 minutes and then read the results. A positive reaction usually looks and feels like a mosquito bite. Sometimes scratch skin tests are followed by intradermal tests. These are not always necessary and depend on what is being tested. If necessary a tiny amount of allergen is injected into the skin with a very small needle. It is not like a typical “shot”. This too may itch or burn. One benefit of skin tests such as these is that the results are known before you leave the office.

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In Unnecessary / Excessive Use of Force – A Working Definition, police use of force expert witness Richard Lichten (Lt. Retired) writes:

I am often asked to explain to people who are not police officers or lawyers the definition of unnecessary and excessive use of force. First, it is important to understand just what a use of force is. While many law enforcement agencies have their own definition, I have found that the simplest explanation is this: A use of force is an intentional act by a police officer who knows, or should know, may cause pain and/or injury to someone for the lawful purpose of controlling their actions.

A police officer may use force when it is lawfully necessary to control the actions of another person. That force must be reasonable, justified, and within policy. When you hear the term “reasonable” used in this context, reasonableness refers to what a reasonable officer would do. A reasonable officer is basically defined as a typical officer, who in a similar situation will react in a similar fashion.

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In Failure to Supervise: An Inside Perspective, securities expert witness Alan Besnoff, Securities Expert Witness & Litigation Support, LLC, writes:

This article will examine the variety of steps and actions that can and should be taken by a firms’ Supervising Principal to assure that the proper degree of supervision of brokers is being performed.

Let’s begin with a quick review of why it is that in so many circumstances, supervisory responsibilities are not fully being met.

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In Event Data Recorders: Proper Evidence Collection in Criminal, Insurance and Tort Liability Investigations, accident reconstruction expert witness Shawn Gyorke, Crash Data Services, LLC, writes:

Over the last several years, the landscape of traffic accident reconstruction and insurance claims investigations has changed dramatically at the hands of technological advances such as event data recorders (vehicle black box technology). This technology has been challenged on numerous occasions and generally been found to be reliable and admissible under both Frye and Daubert paradigms.

The requirement for law enforcement and private insurers to collect and consider this type of evidence in their investigations has not been clearly defined. Law enforcement, insurance investigators and litigators may need to heighten their efforts in the preservation of this critical evidence A failure to properly memorialize this evidence may ultimately result in evidence spoliation claims by criminal defendants, as well as claims of bad faith by parties involved in civil litigation.

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Trucking expert witnesses may consult on the trucking industry, trucking and transportation rules and regulations, as well as highways and transportation projects. In the news, Transport Topics writes that “Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx sent Congress a four-year transportation bill that relies on business tax reforms as a way to boost funds for a federal highway account that is quickly running out of money.”

USAToday writes that “States and local governments stand to lose $46.8 billion in federal funding for transportation and transit projects next year if Congress doesn’t put more money into the Highway Trust Fund and it slides into insolvency, according to a new report.” The Transporation for America report states:

Unless Congress adds new revenue to the nation’s transportation trust fund, the federal government will be unable to commit to funding any new transportation projects, depriving states and localities of resources critical to maintaining and improving the infrastructure that makes our economy possible.

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