January 2009 Archives

Doctors' bad handwriting may be the source of up to 7,000 deaths in the US each year. That's why President Obama's economic recovery package is expected to contain around $20 billion for computerized medical expert notes.  FastCompany.com writes:

The IT-heavy hospitals were 9% less likely to lose a heart-attack patient and 55% less likely to lose a bypass patient than those hospitals who have only light use of health IT.

And the benefits of using digital medical records extend beyond patient deaths into having fewer patients with medical complications, and reduced operating costs. According to Dr. Neil Poe of Johns Hopkins, "If these results were to hold for all hospitals in the United States, computerizing notes and records might have the potential to save 100,000 lives annually."

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country's infrastructure a grade D – barely above failing – in a study it conducts every four years and warned that the country's infrastructure "crisis" was endangering its future prosperity.  With water, sewage and road systems judged to be in particularly bad shape, one in four bridges across the US were rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, while around 2,000 dams were considered to have "high hazard potentia."

Granger Morgan, an independent engineering expert, said that American infrastructure, especially in transportation, "is certainly not in the same league as parts of the developing world and parts of Europe."

Excerpted from Telegraph.co.uk.com

Doctors' bad handwriting may be the source of up to 7,000 deaths in the US each year. That's why President Obama's economic recovery package is expected to contain around $20 billion for computerized medical notes.  FastCompany.com writes:

By connecting hospitals and doctors over the net, the speed and ease of sharing information will increase. Prescription fraud and abuse may decline as well, along with the potential for misunderstanding another medical expert's notes.

A recent piece of research from hospitals in Texas highlights exactly these benefits. The study found that patients who were treated in "paperless" hospitals--specifically those that ranked highest in the use of health IT to manage patient details--were 15% less likely to die than patients in hospitals ranked at the lowest end. And when it comes to life-or-death situations, a 15% margin is enormous.

A Microsoft marketing scheme persuading consumers to buy PCs "capable" of running Windows Vista could cost more money than Microsoft made from the program. University of Washington Associate Economics Professor Keith Leffler gave evidence in the class-action suit against Microsoft's Windows Vista Capable program and estimated the cost of upgrading so-called "capable" PCs to machines able to run premium editions at between $3.08bn and $8.52bn.   The economics expert arrived at the numbers after he was asked by plaintiffs in the case to calculate the impact of the program on the demand and prices of PCs and judge whether there had been an adverse impact on consumers.  ChannelRegister.com also reports:

At the crux of the case is the question of whether Microsoft deliberately mislead consumers who bought a Windows Vista "capable" machine into thinking they could install the full operating system. Windows Vista Capable got you a machine able to run the stripped down basic editions such as Home Basic, but not the premium-edition Windows Vista Ultimate.

The trial resulting from a wagon accident at El Capitan Ranch is scheduled to begin Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, at Santa Barbara Superior Court.  Joseph Aragon and Ellen Aragon vs. El Capitan Ranch, LLC, Robert Carriages and Sons AKA Les Voitures Robert et Fils, Carriages by Margaret, Devon Bonfy, and DOES 1 through 50, Inclusive (Case #: 1220826) alleges negligence, product liability and premises liability.  Ten people were injured when a horse-drawn wagon tipped over and dumped 18 passengers onto the pavement at El Capitan Canyon campground in Santa Barbara.  Joseph Aragon suffered severe injuries to both shoulders and has had five shoulder surgeries since then.  The plaintiff's engineering expert described the wagon as improperly made with spokes connected to the wheels using undersized bolts, wood spokes that were not adequately weather-proofed, and the angle of the spokes to the wheel was improper which added to the wheels' instability.  Cloudcomputing.com also reports:

"It's frightening that, to the best of our knowledge, Robert Carriages and Sons doesn't even have an engineer involved in the making of its wagons," says plaintiff attorney Wolf. "And this isn't the first accident that has been reported to the company regarding its wagons. We understand a similar situation happened to an Illinois man in the fall of 2003."

Boston University law professor Tamar Frankel testified as a fraud expert before Congress Jan. 5 in the first SEC hearing regarding Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme. "Some [money] will be recovered no doubt. The question is how much, and from whom,” she said. BU journalism professor Mitchell Zuckoff, author of the biography Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story Of A Financial Legend, said Madoff built up a reputation as a brilliant investor. “They thought they were getting the great opportunity of a lifetime investing in him,” he said.  DailyFreePress.com also writes:

The SEC’s failure to catch Madoff’s alleged scheme earlier is under fire, but it is not clear whether all blame should be laid on the SEC, Frankel said However, Zuckoff said he has no doubt the SEC failed.

“There is no question in my mind the Securities and Exchange Commission did not do its job,” Zuckoff said. Madoff’s prominent position as former Nasdaq chairman made a thorough investigation of his actions difficult, Frankel said.  “You don’t take a person like that and put him under the light and interrogate him,” she said. “So he was questioned with kid gloves.”

In Engineering Underground Pipeline Safety civil engineering expert Charles Samo, PE, writes:

Natural Gas Pipelines
Underground pipelines are also used to distribute natural gas to consumers including homes and apartment buildings. The aging steel gas pipes are being constantly replaced with high strength Polyethylene plastic pipes. (Since plastic pipes are buried underground they never corrode). One major problem with plastic pipes, however, is that unfortunately, they are vulnerable to ruptures caused by construction equipment. Damage to these pipes could result in escape of natural gas into the atmosphere and to ignite. Natural gas, when released, is more hazardous to life than oil. California Public Utilities Commission has safety jurisdiction and administers the safety of gas pipelines in California.

Major Causes Of Damage
A recent study by the California State Fire Marshal (CSFM) showed that 59 per cent of the failures on oil pipelines in California are the result of corrosion or rust. Damage by construction equipment is the next highest cause of oil pipeline spills.

Boston University law professor Tamar Frankel testified as a fraud expert before Congress Jan. 5 in the first SEC hearing regarding Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme.  Frankel has been working to bring what may prove to be an elaborate fraud to light by contributing her expertise in Ponzi schemes.  Authorities arrested Madoff at his New York City office on Dec. 11 and charged him with securities fraud for orchestrating a Ponzi scheme.

Named after Charles Ponzi, a conman in the 1900s, a Ponzi scheme pays early investors off with funds from new investors. The former Nasdaq stock exchange chairman and founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC’s scheme ended when investors began to request funds from his firm because of the recession.

Excerpted from DailyFreePress.com.

In Engineering Underground Pipeline Safety civil engineering expert Charles Samo, PE, writes:

Although pipelines are considered the safest and most economical mode of transporting large volumes of petroleum and natural gas products over long distances, at times they do present safety risk when in urban areas. Most major airports in U.S. rely on underground pipelines for delivery of jet fuel. The daily consumption of a busy international airport may be around 5 million gallons-a-day or less. A commercial passenger jetliner requires less than 3,000 gallons of fuel per-hour of flight. Construction equipment may inadvertently dig into an underground high-pressure jet fuel line. Any such incident could cause extensive property damage resulting in airport shut down. Whenever the delivery of jet fuel is interrupted, an estimated 600 trucks twice daily would be required to deliver an equivalent daily volume of jet fuel needed.

Dentist expert Dr. Greg Goddard testified Thursday before a Yolo Superior Court jury on the second day of Mark Anderson's trial that a general practice dentist has no business touching a patient's pectoral muscles, even in diagnosing the cause of facial aches and pains. DailyDemocrat.com reports:

Anderson, a longtime Woodland dentist, is facing 21 counts of sexual battery for touching the breasts of female patients who visited his practice between February 2005 and August 2007.

Anderson has pled not guilty to the charges, saying he touched the women's breasts to diagnose or treat temporomandibular disorder, also known as TMD, a painful condition related to muscle tension in the upper body. TMD is similar to the symptoms of temporomandibular joint affliction, or TMJ, and the terms are often used interchangeably.

However, Goddard, the prosecution's expert witness, told jurors Thursday that if a dentist was trying to diagnose TMD, he would be concerned only with the jaw and neck muscles. The pectoral muscles are not known to trigger pain in the jaw area, said Goddard, a retired professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry. He has written a self-care book called, "TMJ: The Jaw Connection: The Overlooked Diagnosis."

When people enter the emergency room at the Community Health Center of Branch County  (CHC), MI, Laura Kopacz or one of two other trained nurses are called in if criminal sexual conduct is suspected.  Forensic nursing experts do testing to determine if a crime has been committed and are qualified to testify as expert witnesses. “This is a difficult topic. We don’t like to hear about it. . .but it happens in Coldwater. It happens a lot.”  Kopacz says 98 percent of assault victims are females, 80 percent of all sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows, and most victims are between 13 and 18 years old.

Excerpted from <a href="http://TheDailyReporter.com">TheDailyReporter.com</a>.

The Energy Resources Conservation Board announced last week the dates for the continuation of the public hearing on the Petro-Canada Sullivan Creek sour gas project. Petroleum engineering experts are scheduled to testify January 20 - 23 on the proposal for 11 new sour gas wells and construction of a gathering system, field facilities and pipeline in the Sullivan Creek area.  Those opposed to the project argue that it threatens a valuable watershed, disturbs native fescue grasslands and takes an unnecessarily intrusive route, among other concerns. Hearings began Nov. 12 and had been scheduled to end Dec. 5.

Excerpted from HighRiverTimes.com.

The interveners argued the project threatens a valuable watershed, disturbs native fescue grasslands and takes an unnecessarily intrusive route, among other concerns.

Michael Baden, the pathology expert witness the O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake and Kobe Bryant cases, has agreed to give a second opinion as to how a high-ranking Albuquerque police officer died last year. Baden, the former New York City Chief Medical Examiner, will issue a report on the death of Lt. Todd Parkins. The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator ruled last month that Parkins committed suicide, a finding questioned by the Albuquerque Police Department, the officer's family and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, which investigated the death. Last weekend, Sheriff Darren White contacted Baden, who agreed to review the case and issue a report.Baden, chief pathologist for the New York State Police, has not given a timetable on when his report will be ready. White said Baden has not asked to be compensated.

Excerpted from PoliceOne.com.

Twenty-nine franchisee-plaintiffs are set to go to trial in Georgia against Mama Fu's Pan-Asian restaurant chain and executives H. Martin Sprock, III and Daryl Dollinger charging fraud, breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied contract, violations of the Florida Franchise Act and the Robinson-Patman Act.

Franchisees are asking that the court appoint a temporary receiver to take possession of Mama Fu's franchise property.  According to franchise expert Michael Seid, the information given to franchisees in Mama Fu’s disclosure documents was "false, misleading and omitted important and required information."  The expert stated "It is not the purpose of a franchisee's due diligence to discover factual misrepresentation in a UFOC (now called the franchise disclosure document), franchise agreement or sales presentation. They should be entitled to rely upon their veracity."

Excerpted from BlueMauMauFranchise News.

Last week the GAO released a report on financial services regulation stating that Congress could consider providing a federal charter option for insurance and creating a federal insurance regulatory entity. Chuck Chamness, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies president and chief executive officer, said in a statement, “While not perfect, the insurance financial regulatory system has provided a source of comparative stability during the financial crisis.”  NAIMC just published a study Financial Oversight Failure Highlights Effectiveness of Insurance Regulation.  NationalUnderwriterProperty&CasualtyInsuranceNews.com writes:

The report noted, “Most experts agree that the current financial crisis is the result of a housing market ‘bubble,’ the effects of which were exacerbated by a proliferation of largely unregulated hedging mechanisms, especially derivatives such as credit default swaps.” It goes on to note that while credit default swaps have been described by some as insurance, they are, in fact, separate risk management products and “lack the core legal elements and business characteristics that are a prerequisite to homeowners and other property-casualty insurance products. The vast majority of CDS clearly lack insurable interest and are initiated by speculators who have no exposure to the underlying debt instrument whose credit default risk the CDS could be used to hedge.”

Raymond Lee Oyler, charged with setting two dozen fires including the deadly Esperanza, CA, fire in 2006 that killed the five well-known firefighters, goes on trial today for murder. Using arson experts, Deputy District Attorney Michael Hestrin seeks to show Oyler as a serial arsonist who set fires using red-tipped wooden matches bundled around a cigarette with rubber bands or duct tape in 23 fires. SouthernLedger.com also reports:

"The evidence is going to show that there was a series of fires started by Mr. Oyler, that the devices that Mr. Oyler used had distinct similarities, and that there's an evolution in the devices," Hestrin said during a preliminary hearing last March. Defense attorney Mark McDonald tried to get the trial moved from Riverside County, claiming intense pretrial publicity and "a lynch mob atmosphere" in the community would make it impossible to choose jurors who have no opinions about the case.

Tony Link, a Mesa County, CO, attorney told District Judge Brian Flynn that budget constraints at the state level could impact the defense in a murder case. Link was appointed to represent 33-year-old Charles McEachern who is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in the death of 3-year-old Miranda Bacathat.

Link says the state-funded Office of Alternate Defense Counsel (ADC) may soon start “limiting” dollars available to hire expert witnesses to testify at trial. GJPress also reports Link said he was made aware of the situation in a recent conversation with the local representative of the ADC program. “Potentially, it can impact how we approach cases,” the attorney said after a hearing. “ADC has been very fair in making sure people get a good defense.”

In Hawaii Wrongful Death Claim, attorney Wayne Parsons writes on the evidence needed to prove fault in a wrongful death case:

In order to win a wrongful death lawsuit, you must be able to prove that the person accused of wrongful death had an obligation or duty to act in a certain way, and by failing to do so, caused the victim's death.

The burden of proof in wrongful death cases is a "preponderance of the evidence." This means you only have to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant's actions led to the death of your loved one. This is considerably less than the burden of proof in a criminal case, where you need to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Evidence needed to prove fault in a wrongful death case includes testimony from witnesses who saw the incident, wrote medical reports, engineering expert reports and police reports. In cases involving medical malpractice, boating accidents, defective products, vehicle safety, or construction site safety, you will also need testimony from an expert witness.

Excerpted from InjuryBoard.com.

In Key Factors In-House Counsel Need To Know When Selecting A Forensic Expert, John J. Scott and Hutch Hubbard write:

Although experienced expert witnesses are quite familiar with the requirements of Daubert and the Federal Rules, it is important for corporate counsel to remain aware of the issues. This is of particular importance throughout the selection process.

Your expert should provide full disclosure as to theories and methodology in preparing his or her report. There may not be an opportunity to supplement a report that provides too little at the onset. Discuss with your expert whether the work described in his or her report could be duplicated by another expert in the same field. Finally, ensure that your expert is thorough in disclosing all of the material considered, and ask your expert to address the obvious objections by specifying the reasons competing techniques were rejected, and why they deemed unhelpful or otherwise did not rely on data that might have been considered pertinent.

For more, see MetropolitanCorporateCounsel.

In Three Rules for Forensic Real Estate Damage Valuation: Deductive, Adductive, or Reductive Rule? (analysis) real estate appraisal experts Wayne C. Lusvardi and Charles Warren write:

Forensic Valuation: What Is It? Forensic real estate valuation is the application of economic principles and methodologies to answer questions of fact as to whether real estate values have suffered a permanent damage. Forensic real estate valuation contrasts with the prevailing valuation theory in the real estate industry that often fails to distinguish permanent loss from the following:
Situations Where Damages Are Impermanent or Non-recoverable
* The market has already provided "implicit compensation" for a pre-existing "foreseeable" condition (i.e., the "foreseeability damage test").
* The purported loss reflects the real estate market cycle.
* The loss was insured and thus recoverable.
* The loss is a brief, temporary loss of marketability.
* The loss was mitigatable or avoidable.
* The loss is speculative or stems from a self-interested claim of "stigma."
* Any diminution in value reflects a changed highest use of the property rather than full economic loss.

Severn Trent Water has been testing robot VR600 to clean their reservoirs. Because the robot works underwater, it can do the job without emptying the reservoir and keeps tap water running. Severn Trent is working with water engineering expert Panton McLeod, which owns the submarines. Paul Henderson, operations director at Panton McLeod, said: "The only alternative to using the remotely-operated machines was to drain the reservoir and have workers going into the tank to clean it."

A smaller submarine, known as a remotely-operated underwater vehicle, or ROV, inspects the inside of the tanks.  If it is a success, it will be brought into use in Leicestershire's reservoirs.

For more, see ThisisLeicestershire.com.

Baltimore Judge Alfred Nance has approved the resolution a Constellation Energy Group subsidiary reached two months ago with Anne Arundel County residents who alleged their groundwater was tainted by coal ash.  From 1995 until September 2007, the Baltimore-based energy company deposited millions of tons of fly ash from two of its Anne Arundel County power plants into two Gambrills quarries.  Pollution experts who endorsed the settlement included Jan Richard Schlichtmann, whose drinking water contamination suit against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Co. was the basis for the book and movie “A Civil Action.”

For more, see TheDailyRecord.