Expert Witness Blog
Practical guidance for expert witnesses — testimony, report writing, depositions, fees and building a successful practice.
December 22, 2012
Insurance Claims Expert Witness Found Qualified to Testify
The court finds Mr. Schratz is qualified to testify as an expert witness, as to claims handling issues based on his knowledge, skill, training and education.
Insurance Claims Expert Witness Found Qualified to Testify In Lucas v. Texas International Life Insurance Company the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma has ruled that an insurance claims expert witness is qualified to testify on claims under a cancer/dread disease policy or standards for bad faith in Oklahoma. The court reasoned: Defendant has also objected to
Read moreDecember 22, 2012
Patent Infringement Expert Witness Excluded for Lack of Qualifications
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that a patent infringement expert witness was not qualified on the issue of non-infringement.
Patent Infringement Expert Witness Excluded for Lack of Qualifications In Morpho Detection v. Smiths Detection, The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that a patent infringement expert witness who admitted that he did not have the experience of one of ordinary skill in the art (the definition agreed upon by the parties) was not qualified
Read moreDecember 22, 2012
Packaging Engineer Expert Witness’s Opinion On Commercial Motor Vehicles Found Not Based Upon a Reliable Methodology
US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana has ruled that a packaging engineer’s opinion based upon his claimed experiences without further explanation was not based upon a reliable methodology
Packaging Engineer Expert Witness’s Opinion On Commercial Motor Vehicles Found Not Based Upon a Reliable Methodology In Morris v. Ford Motor Company the US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana has ruled that a packaging engineer’s opinion based upon his claimed experiences without further explanation was not based upon a reliable methodology. The Court reasoned: Morris insists that
Read moreDecember 20, 2012
Email Statements Concerning Firearms Expert Witness Found Not to Be Defamatory
The 7th US Circuit has affirmed a summary judgment ruling against a firearms expert witness who had sued for defamation.
Email Statements Concerning Firearms Expert Witness Found Not to Be Defamatory The 7th US Circuit has affirmed a summary judgment ruling against a firearms expert witness who had sued for defamation. The case is NIXON v. HAAG. The Circuit Court’s reasoning from its unpublished opinion is provided below: John Nixon, a professional expert witness on firearm mechanics, appeals the grant of summary
Read moreDecember 19, 2012
How to Draft an Expert Witness Disclosure or Expert Witness Declaration
Expert witness disclosures should be carefully drafted as these can be used against the expert witness in the case at hand or other future cases.
Free Whitepaper: How to Draft a Powerful, Persuasive, and Understandable Expert Witness Report Depending upon the jurisdiction, expert witnesses may be required to draft and sign an expert witness disclosure or expert witness declaration. The expert can find out what the disclosure or declaration needs to contain by asking retaining counsel. Expert witness disclosures should be carefully drafted as these disclosures can
Read moreDecember 19, 2012
Expert Witness Report Example
When drafting an expert report, it is often helpful to review model reports prepared by other expert witnesses. The following expert witness report example is excerpted from SEAK’s text
Expert Witness Report Example Free Whitepaper: How to Draft a Powerful, Persuasive, and Understandable Expert Witness Report ——————————————————————————————— Below is an example of an expert witness report: The following represents my Rule 26 Report in the matter of Hurt v. Brown & Drecker. It is based on review of materials submitted to me by your office (enumerated later),
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
How to Start Providing Expert Witness Services
Expert Witnessing is a one strike and you are out environment, those providing expert witness services will want to deliver a superior work product and avoid traps for the unwary.
How to Get Going Providing Expert Witness Services Providing expert witness services is, in a certain sense, a very simple and easy business to get into. The three practical things you will need are: 1) Some experience, knowledge, skill, or training that a litigator may find of use in a case. 2) A curriculum vitae (CV) 3) An expert witness
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
Types of Expert Witnesses
As someone who focuses in a sub area of expertise, the niche expert witness will tend to be more knowledgeable and more in demand by litigators. Many types of expert witnesses that we train operate in a niche or sub niche and are very successful doing so
Types of Expert Witnesses I am often asked who is qualified to become an expert witness. Many qualified people never consider getting into expert witnessing work because “they are not a doctor.” Others may think that their area of expertise is too narrow. Let’s debunk both of these common misconceptions. First of all, you don’t need to be a PhD,
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
Expert Witness Liability
The law on expert witness liability is somewhat sparse and varies from state to state, but the expert should note the following four general guidelines...
What is the legal liability of an expert witness The law generally affords certain immunities to an expert witness from civil liability stemming from testimony or communications made in the course of litigation. The law on this subject is somewhat sparse and varies from state to state, but the expert witness should note the following four general guidelines. Expert witnesses
Read moreDecember 18, 2012
Role of An Expert Witness
Expert witnesses who appear to be hired guns or advocates for their clients rapidly lose credibility. The most effective expert witnesses call cases as they see them. They are advocates for their opinions, not the party who is paying their fees.
Role of An Expert Witness Expert witnesses are allowed under the rules of evidence to “help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue” (See Federal Rule of Evidence 702). The trier of fact in a jury trial is the jury and the trier of fact in a bench trial is the judge.
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