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Forensic pathology expert witness Dr. Robert Kurtzman testified in the Grand Junction, CO, case against Heather Jensen. Jensen is charged in the 2012 hyperthermia deaths of her two young sons. Kurtzman described how children succumb to hyperthermia more quickly than adults. Dr. Kurtzman is a Staff Pathologist at the Grand Junction Community Hospital and former Former Mesa County coroner. The Mesa County Coroner’s Office website explains their role:

Deaths may be expected, but others; which are sudden, unexpected, and suspicious or from a violent act are investigated by the Coroner’s Office. The responsibility of the Mesa County Coroner’s Office is to conduct a complete unbiased forensic investigation to determine the cause and manner of death, and to answer any questions which may arise. Questions which seem irrelevant in the initial hours after death can become significant in the following months….

Associated Responsibilities

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On his website, child abuse expert witness Dr. Michael R. Weinraub, FAAP, explains Abusive Head Trauma. Dr. Weinraub is a Board Certified Pediatrician with three decades of clinical practice experience.

Formerly called Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) this form of child abuse is now called Abusive Head Trauma (AHT). While protecting children from infancy onwards from abusive head trauma (AHT) is of primary importance, recent concerns have been raised in specific cases about the degree of medical certainty of AHT as a diagnosis where a broader differential diagnosis may offer explanations of the findings that are not due to abuse.

A standard of care medical work-up of a case of suspected AHT starts with a medical history including a determination of when the child was last well, if ever; a physical examination and review of prior physical examinations and other findings in the medical records; and consideration of current laboratory and radiology findings resulting in a differential diagnosis. This differential diagnosis consideration of various medical conditions as well as of the timing of the findings will assist the physician in forming an opinion of the causation of these findings. For example, findings of brain swelling may arise from an abusive event or may be secondary to a medical condition such as a seizure that caused hypoxic brain injury and swelling. In the process of a medical work-up, one medical explanation may offer the most reasonable explanation for the findings or a medical explanation may offer a reasonable explanation of the findings equally as well as an abusive cause.

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In Evaluting An Expert Witness For School Safety Cases, school safety expert witness Michael Dorn writes:

Questions to Ask a Potential Expert Witness for School Safety Cases

…Attorneys, judges and insurance professionals are typically already familiar with general questions that should be asked of an expert. Some specific questions that might help more accurately gauge an expert’s suitability for a school safety case before the expert is retained and sent documents to review include:

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Mortgages expert witness Joffrey G. Long will moderate a special session on title insurance as part of the January 30-31 educational program presented by the California Mortgage Association in Universal City, CA. In Securing a mortgage expert witness: Types of real property lawsuits, Mr. Long writes:

There are many types of lawsuits involving loans secured by real property; they often fall into one of six general themes:

4) Loan servicing, default and modification issues: Cases involve what occurred after a loan was originated, including issues about application of payments; the processing, denial, or granting of loan modifications; and foreclosure.

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What areas of internet technology may internet security expert witnesses consult on? These experts may write reports and testify concerning internet devices, smart appliances, computer security intrusions, hacking, and more. As more objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gain the ability to communicate, malicious e-mails have now been sent by internet connected appliances including wireless speakers, televisions and at least one refrigerator. Guardian Liberty Voice reports that a smart refrigerator was among the more than 100,000 appliances and devices used by hackers to send out spam emails.

McKinsey and Company writes on smart appliances:

When objects can both sense the environment and communicate, they become tools for understanding complexity and responding to it swiftly. What’s revolutionary in all this is that these physical information systems are now beginning to be deployed, and some of them even work largely without human intervention.

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Explosions expert witnesses may consult regarding dust explosions, flammable materials, combustion, and associated matters. On Monday, an explosion at the International Nurtrition animal feed processing plant in Omaha caused part of the facility to collapse and sent more than ten employees to the hospital. OSHA writes:

The grain handling industry is a high hazard industry where workers can be exposed to numerous serious and life threatening hazards. These hazards include: fires and explosions from grain dust accumulation, suffocation from engulfment and entrapment in grain bins, falls from heights and crushing injuries and amputations from grain handling equipment.

Grain dust explosions are often severe, involving loss of life and substantial property damage. Over the last 35 years, there have been over 500 explosions in grain handling facilities across the United States, which have killed more than 180 people and injured more than 675.

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Toxicology expert witness Justin David Schwane testified in the manslaughter trial of Dallas Cowboys player Josh Brent. The Dallas County Crime Lab toxicology chemist testified regarding blood alcohol calculations and determined that Brent had been drinking heavily before the accident that claimed the life of teammate Jerry Brown. Schwane went on to say that Brent may have had as many as 17 alcoholic drinks for his blood alcohol level to reach 0.189. Schwane tested three samples of Brent’s blood at the time of the arrest.

Brent drove his car at 110 mph in a 45 mph zone and crashed into a curb which caused the car to fly into the air.

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Mortgages expert witness Joffrey G. Long will moderate a special session on title insurance as part of the January 30-31 educational program presented by the California Mortgage Association in Universal City, CA. In Securing a mortgage expert witness: Types of real property lawsuits, Mr. Long writes:

There are many types of lawsuits involving loans secured by real property; they often fall into one of six general themes:

2) The commercial loan gone bad: In this case, again often involving loans originated in 2007 or before, (and with a surprising percentage originated in either 2006 or 2007) a commercial property owner or developer has obtained a loan, or often a series of loans from a commercial institution or private money lender.

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In EFFECTIVE VALUATION & LITIGATION SUPPORT IN CORPORATE SECURITIES LAWSUITS, forensic accounting expert witness Richard M. Squar, CPA, CVA, ABV, CFF, MBA-Taxation, writes:

In conjunction with statutory definitions of value, additional levels of value are analyzed for their applicability.

FURTHER LEVELS OF VALUE

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Environmental forensics expert witnesses may consult on environmental health and safety, soil/groundwater investigations, above ground and underground storage sites, and associated matters. In the news, hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents have been without tap water since Thursday after a chemical leak contaminated their water supply. On Friday the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Water and Waste Management issued a Cease Operations Order to Freedom Industries, Inc. and is now requiring the company to remove the contents in the 11 remaining above-ground storage tanks at its Etowah Terminal in Charleston. The chemical MCHM leaked from tanks and entered the Elk River on Thursday and then a water treatment facility. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection reports:

According to the order issued Friday night, Freedom Industries must begin, within 24 hours, removing all material from all above-ground storage tanks and store the material in an off-site area which provides adequate secondary containment.

Also within 24 hours, Freedom Industries must submit for approval an appropriate plan of corrective action which at a minimum shall include, among other things, a detailed plan to appropriately implement a remediation of all contaminated soil and/or groundwater and a plan and schedule for the ultimate disposition of the products stored in these tanks.

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