Articles by Expert Witnesses

In Varsity v. Star Athletica, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed one of the confounding issues in copyright law: when pictorial, graphic and sculptural works are sufficiently separate from the articles on which they are placed to qualify for copyright protection.

Georgetown University is the latest school to fight off a lawsuit brought against their 403(b) plans claiming a breach of fiduciary duties. Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis have also had lawsuits dismissed, while New York University succeeded in a trial hearing last year.

This article is prompted by an inquiry we received recently from a family law practitioner who felt that he had extracted all he could from the smorgasbord of online marketing tools and was seeking alternative, “out-of-the-box” means for growing his practice.

Expert witnesses hired for a court case where they must provide testimony usually have very stringent guidelines in place that require certain protocols and processes that affect opinions provided and processes that the professional must follow. Within these guidelines, the expert witness can present a case and remove confusion about evidence.

Brain Injury Medicine (BIM) has recently been added as a subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties, I am asked by attorneys to explain more about it. Qualified Board-Certified Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Physiatrists (Physical Medicine and Rehab) and Sports Medicine physicians are permitted to take the exam for the Brain Injury Medicine certification.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans are not available to one-third of U.S. workers, according to the Pew Center, and many employees who do have access to a pension plan do not participate. Some industry sources estimate that up to 58 million private sector workers are not covered by a retirement plan.

There are different ways that a professional that has experience with a certain subject field can become an expert witness for the courtroom hired by a lawyer. Many of these different methods are from a start and continued experience with lawyers that can help to further the career of a professional with legal matters.

There are numerous tips for expert witnesses in providing the courtroom with the most effective testimony possible for the subject matter, depending on what the expert needs to get across to the judge or jury panel. These tips often depend on the understanding of the question, the reliable testing methods and relevant content presented to the court.

Frye and Daubert are the standards for expert witnesses that explain what the professional must accomplish to remain a designated witness for the trial case. There are many factors for vetting and qualifying the expert in the courtroom, and it is important that the professional first understand these criteria under Frye before testifying.

U.S. corporate pension plan sponsors continue to pursue a strategy called “pension risk transfer”under the favorable economic conditions of 2018. A pension risk transfer generally refers to the process by which a pension plan sponsor purchases a group annuity from an insurance company to cover pension payments and administration for all or a portion of plan participants.

Throughout the entire country, expert witnesses have become an integral part of the court cases for multiple and numerous issues that may arise where there is a need to explain something further or remove confusion. By using an expert with a scientific background, it is possible that the professional can do so in all states in the country.

The best practices that expert witnesses adhere to generally require staying on point in the case, keeping the material relevant and ensuring that all test methods are reliable or give reliable results with a known margin of error. Other best practices usually change based on the case, but many of these are similar throughout the expert’s life in the courts.

Expert witnesses that either do not make it through qualifying as a designated expert witness or that provide services outside of the expert witness field can assist the lawyer in understanding the subject materials or in finding an expert witness to give testimony in the courtroom. Other consultants work closely with the legal team for informational purposes.

Sales of independent film is a volatile undertaking, even under the best of circumstances. The competition is stiff, buyer’s tastes shift, and thousands of films are produced globally each year. According to IMDB, in the last 10 years, film production has doubled from 4,585 in 2005 to 9,387 films in 2015.

Finding an expert witness often requires assistance such as a database, expert hiring agency or research into the local area to discover if there exists someone with the relevant knowledge of the subject matter that is in the case. Once the lawyer and legal team find this professional, it is time to interview and then determine if a hire is the next step.

Stress testing for public sector retirement plans is gaining attention following the adoption of new standardized guidelines, as well as support from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The practice of stress testing started with banks and financial institutions following the 2008 economic crisis, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

Many child pornography cases involve computers and hiring a computer expert witness is crucial to help prove or disprove the matter. The professional will perform many checks on the involved computing devices, analyze data from deleted files and assess internet connections to certain chat rooms, browser history and other tasks.

Working with an expert witness hired for a specific case requires an understanding of what this professional will do during the case, before the courtroom and while in the court. Having a strong relationship with this expert is a key to a better experience and to a greater attempt at success in the claim or case for the client.

To make the most of the expert witness for the case, it is important to hire this professional early and explain the specifics of the direct examination. When it is clear that a trial case is the likely outcome, the expert witness may need an early hire to work through the evidence and other materials quickly to support the argument in the courtroom.

There is much to be said about the February 5th losses on the leveraged VIX ETF options.

What happened on February 5th, 2018.

As an active duty Deputy Fire Chief, I was responsible for the lives and safety of all of my firefighters as well. Creating an environment free from harassment, intimidation, discrimination and other such harmful behavior was as much important as creating a safe emergency scene.

There are several types of expert witnesses that may assist with a traumatic brain or head injury with a professional football player in either major leagues or minor leagues. These professionals usually must explain the injury, the reason the injury occurred or why the defendant is liable for damages such as with product defects or a lack of protection.

There are several cases where there are toxic substances used as materials in products used for young children or babies that require the services of an expert witness to both understand and pursue a legal claim against. In these situations, the expert hired will need to testify about the tested materials and expose the damages the company or person caused.

In a personal injury case, the victim may have need of several experts to assist with the issues of the subject matter to include explaining and calculating the loss of income and other damages owed. These experts may become part of the claim as witnesses or give reports and documentation to support the claim as evidence.

Expert testimony about fatigued driving generally revolves around the different health problems a person may have while behind the wheel and becoming tired or exhausted to the point of falling asleep. Others may have additional stress, are driving after a long day or become fatigued through different problems that may arise to possibly cause an accident.

Did you know that OSHA plays a very important role in nearly every restaurant and bar industry lawsuit and insurance claim? Well, it most certainly does, and it doesn’t matter if the person that got injured, harmed, sickened, maimed or killed was an employee or a customer of the subject establishment.

Did you know that restaurants are more likely to experience workplace violence than any other industry in America? In this article we will help you find out why restaurants are so prone to violence, what leads to violence, the practical steps to help make restaurants safe, and the insider information that you need when dealing with one of these legal matters.

When there are violations incurred with the state insurance claims either for the company or against it, these matters may require the services of an insurance expert witness to unravel the confusion and explain the necessary and relevant details. The expert hired for someone suing the company will need to review the matter carefully and determine how best to proceed with testimony.

Stock option controversies often arise through the devaluation or tampering of the stock options given to the employees as a way to increase income over time as the company grows. However, it often takes an expert witness to explain these matters and demonstrate the problems that exist and that decrease the value so that stock options are nearly worthless.

The U.S. Treasury Department recently approved pension benefit reductions for two pension funds, the Western States Office and Professional Employees Pension Fund (“Western States”) of Portland, Ore., and the Ironworkers Local 16 Pension Fund (“Ironworkers”) of Towson, Md.

Drug charges often require an expert to analyze the data, understand the full elements of the case and explain these issues to the courtroom for a better awareness of each factor. Without an expert to assess a blood or urine sample, the results may remain unverified which may assist in releasing a guilty party without the necessary conviction he or she may incur.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a July 24th opinion in the case Munro vs. University of Southern California, Case No: 17-55550 (9th Cir. 2018)* concerning the scope of arbitration clauses in employment contracts and . . .

Crane accidents generally occur when an operator is unaware of certain issues based on a lack of warning labels or when the instructions do not include various problems or defects that could exist. An expert witness may need to explain these matters in the courtroom to clarify the claim and how it affects the injured party.

Some expert witnesses will need class certification for class action lawsuits or when using specific and specialized knowledge for various cases that demand certification for the subject matter. Some professionals work with larger cases that encompass multiple or dozens of plaintiffs against a company that increases the standards the expert is put to within the claim.

Construction materials used in a product’s creation may contain certain harmful chemicals, and an expert witness may need to provide testimony against the manufacturer or construction company when a person or employee sustains injury from the resource used. The professional hired for these claims may also need to express to the courtroom why formaldehyde was in the materials.

Date Rape Drugs: Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Law

Many food poisoning cases require the assistance and expertise of an expert witness to understand the actual cause and severity of the contamination that affects and injures those that consume the food. An infectious disease consultant may provide details similar to those that work for the Centers for Disease Control that may take center stage in some food poisoning cases.

Global supply chains are complicated and involve relationships between multiple supply chain partners. Each relationship requires some kind of agreement or contract between the parties that is often the source of conflict that result in law suits.

The majority managers seeking to outperform the S&P 500 fail. However, there is a way to improve the odds tremendously.

When there are various issues on the road that require additional explanation or a clearing up of confusion, it is important to hire an expert witness. When the case material involves buried power lines, a utilities expert is generally the professional that is able to discuss and detail what happened and why awarding damages is important.

There are certain cases where an optometry expert witness may assist with a case such as low vision, near blindness and when the person requires a special type of prescription that could necessitate a claim with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In these cases, the expert must prove that his or her testimony should remain included.

When a pedestrian suffers harm through a train intersection or at a rail crossing, a railroad expert witness may need to explain the situation and how the individual was not expected to know a train was coming. In these claims, the expert may need to provide examples and signs from the crossing and how the rail manufacturer failed with equipment warning the person.

Securities cases that involve fraud are complex and difficult to understand unless the individual has a background in these financial matters, so hiring a finance expert witness is often necessary to explain and detail the criminal aspect and why conviction or a legal remedy is important. Seeking either justice or compensation is one task of the finance professional.

It is crucial for both the lawyer and the expert witness to understand the objections that could occur during the deposition period. While the opposing lawyer may need this time to object to various issues with the professional, the opposing legal team may also reflect and prepare to counter the objections to keeping the expert witness in the case.

It is possible during the disclosure period that the expert witness’ testimony may face exclusion resulting in the opinions not being heard in the courtroom. This could lead to the dismissal of the expert witness if the legal team and expert do not follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Avoiding exclusion is crucial for the testimony to remain in the case.

There are numerous tips that an expert witness may use to help with examinations, and many of them revolve around the questions and how to answer best with cross-examination. Understanding the question given is crucial to giving the answer that best defines the information and removes confusion from the courtroom.

It is often a conflict of interest that causes problems that may even lead up to the disqualification of the expert witness in numerous cases. Avoiding these circumstances and remaining on the case or claim is vital for the professional to assist the lawyer and explain the subject matter to the courtroom to alleviate confusion.

Handwriting experts may have difficulty with admissible testimony in certain cases unless the professional remains in line with the Rule 702 for Federal Rules of Evidence. Any deviation or sidetrack from these rules could lead to the exclusion of an expert’s testimony regarding handwriting samples and examination of the writer.

Lawyers and Judges in Harris County courts are starting to recognize Diminished Value as claim warranted of pursuing if you are the innocent party involved in an auto accident that was not your fault. Your vehicle will lose value, but how much will it lose?