Category: Articles, Accident Analysis / Reconstruction, Medical & Healthcare, Personal Injury, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Saddle Trauma and the Mechanical Bull TASA ID: 4298 Introduction The author is a forensic engineer with a Ph.D in biomechanical engineering and is licensed in several states as a structural and professional engineer. The author is employed by Packer Engineering Group, a firm that investigates accidents and injuries, and provides expert opinions to their clients as well as in a court of law. Packer was contacted because of a lawsuit involving an injury on a mechanical bull. The firm was requested to investigate reported injuries, validate the injured individual’s account of the accident and the cause of his injuries, and issue a written report. This report was, therefore, written as a response to the lawsuit. Details were redacted and replaced with general terms for anonymity. Read more
Category: Articles, Medical & Healthcare Mind Games: How the Neuropsychologist Expert Supports the Defense in TBI Claims Whitepaper TASA ID: 2434 Neuropsychologists can now demonstrate that the vast majority of individuals quickly recover from the effects of mild traumatic brain injury.This expert, Ph.D., ABPP, is a licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist and practicing neuropsychologist. For more than years he has worked as a psychologist in administration, education, research, and service delivery. He is licensed in California, Hawaii and Nevada and is presently the consulting neuropsychologist in Modesto, California. Read more
Category: Articles, Chemicals / Toxic Substances, Medical & Healthcare, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Toxicology OVERVIEW OF BENZENE TOXICITY TASA ID: 1351 I. Background InformationBenzene is a clear, colorless liquid at ambient temperatures. Benzene has a relatively high vapor pressure and thus evaporates quickly into the air. The odor threshold for benzene has been reported as 12 parts per million. Benzene occurs naturally in crude oil and is widely used in industry as a raw material for the production of other organic chemicals. Most gasolines sold in this country contain between one and two percent benzene (World Health Organization, 1993; ACGIH, 2001; Bruckner, et al., 2008). Benzene is present in most outdoor and indoor environments. Most benzene exposures to the general public are associated with the use of gasoline powered vehicles and other equipment. Benzene is also found in some consumer products and is present in main stream and side stream tobacco smoke (Wallace, 1996). Read more
Category: Articles, Computer/Internet, Crime Investigation, Handwriting Examination, Medical & Healthcare, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Security, Toxicology “Who Wrote That Email?” Forensic Authorship Attribution and Stylometry TASA ID: 3949 Some cases hinge on the authorship of a document. Whether we want to know about the author of a defamatory email, the source of a ransom note, or the authenticity of a will, one of the most important pieces of evidence is the one that establishes who wrote it. Historically, most documents were handwritten and handwriting experts (today they go by the title “forensic document examiners”) could determine who wrote something from the slant of an f or the height of a t. Even with typewritten documents, they could notice a chipped p or an out-of-line c and identify the specific typewriter that created the document. Physical creation also produces physical variance. Read more
Category: Articles, Medical & Healthcare, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Protect Yourself From Medicolegal Risk TASA ID: 1466 This article was originally published by Review of Optometry, https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/protect-yourself-from-medicolegal-riskGetting sued for malpractice is a no-win situation. Even if you’re not at fault, you still lose your time and suffer from the emotional toll and overall distraction. Fortunately, malpractice payments on behalf of optometrists are rare; on average, there are less than 34 cases nationally each year, and half of them are less than $50,000. But for each malpractice payment, there are even more claims. In ophthalmology, from 1985 to 2007, for every malpractice indemnity payment there were roughly four claims. Over the course of a 35-year career, 95% of ophthalmologists will have one claim against them, and more than half can expect two or three. While optometry may never incur the same level of risk, ODs must remain diligent as practitioners provide more and more medical services.To read the full article, select the download option below. Read more
