Expert Witness Blog

The Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Independent Expert Scientific Advisory Panel will investigate the well failure at Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon storage facility. The panel will include Dean Baker, MD, MPH, Professor and Director, UC Irvine Center for Occupational and Environmental Health; Chief, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, UC Irvine School of Medicine. Dr. Baker is an expert in clinical occupational and environmental medicine, epidemiology, and children’s environmental health. The three month long gas leak caused the relocation of thousands of residents in the San Fernando Valley, CA, neighborhood of Porter Ranch.

Verizon Wireless has filed a lawsuit against the Freehold Township, New Jersey, Zoning Board of Adjustment after the town denied an application to construct a cellular communications tower on property at Route 537. A communications expert witness testified during hearings that Verizon is designing the 4G network in order to provide service in areas with gaps in network coverage. Verizon claims the zoning board’s December 10, 2015 denial of a use variance was without legal basis.

Lumber Liquidators pleaded guilty today for violations of the Lacey Act and will pay $10M in fines and penalties. The DOJ investigation found that Lumber Liquidators smuggled illegal wood from the Russian Far East. The company was found guilty of the felony for entry of goods by means of false statements and four misdemeanor counts of violating the Lacey Act. Lumber Liquidators has been placed on a 5 year probationary period to implement an environmental compliance plan.

Environmental health and safety is often at the center of environmental lawsuits that involve hazardous chemicals or other forms of contamination. Environmental expert witnesses may consult on environmental science, water and waste treatment, toxicology, and environmental assessment. Flint, MI, is front and center in the national news with a state of emergency due to lead in the city’s tap water. On November 13, 2015, a class action lawsuit was filed by four Flint families on behalf of Flint citizens. Charged with personal injury and property damage are the state of Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder, and the city of Flint over alleged negligence in the Flint water crisis. The Natural Resources Defense Council states that officials knew of the risks involved with transferring the city’s water supply from Lake Huron to the contaminated Flint River, yet proceeded.

The Georgia Supreme Court will rule on whether to overturn a 2010 verdict against the textile company Scapa Dryer Fabrics Inc. Scapa made fabric containing asbestos and was ordered to pay the largest asbestos personal injury verdict in Georgia history. Plaintiff Roy Knight did sheet metal work in the Scapa plant between 1967 and 1973 and suffers from mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure is the only known cause for the deadly cancer.

Environmental assessment expert witnesses spoke before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board’s hearing in Crawford, NE, regarding the Crow Butte Uranium mine. The board is a quasi-independent arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. At issue is the ten year renewal of the operating license for the mine in Dawes County. Testimony included environmental assessment of water safety as well as the evaluation, protection and access to cultural and historic resources at the mine.

District Judge Edmund A.Sargus ruled that the evidence submitted by chemical expert witnesses in the MDL case against DuPont is sufficient to allow a reasonable juror to conclude that C-8 specifically caused the plaintiffs’ linked diseases. DuPont’s West Virginia Washington Works Plant released C8, a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon, into the air and Ohio River from the 1950s until the early 2000s. The chemical reached drinking water supplies by way of the groundwater. DuPont, founded in 1802, is the world’s fourth largest chemical company.

Watershed and fire expert witness Bob Eisele testified before the Senate Natural Resources Committee hearing this month. He described the National Environmental Policy Act as a good system but red tape causes “excessive delays.” Forest Service officials say fire suppression in 2015 could cost between $800M and $1.6B. Mr. Eisele is a Fire Behavior Analyst, SoCal Incident Managment Team 2, and previously a Watershed Manager/Fire Behavior Analyst for the County of San Diego.

Wastewater expert witness Fred Stottlemyer testified regarding the West Virginia Public Service Commission’s investigation into the January 9, 2014 Freedom Industries chemical spill. The spill from the West Virginia American Water intake and treatment and distribution center occurred when crude MCHM was released into the Elk River.

What areas of accident reconstruction may railroad accident expert witnesses consult on? They may write reports and testify on train derailments, track/switch operation, maintenance-of-way issues, and collisions. Nearly 3 billion gallons of crude oil will move through the state of Washington on trains this year. The Spokesman-Review reports that the volume could triple within five years, “as highly flammable crude from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields is shipped to refineries and ports in Western Washington, Oregon and California.”