When an “Expert Witness” is needed
A general-purpose “expert” is no expert at all. Law researchers have shown that the witness with the most impact on judges and juries is a respected and credible specialist in the relevant subject-matter, particularly someone who has held elected offices in professional bodies and government committees (ahem, ahem).
It is true that Dr. Ben Barkow has served as an expert in three-dozen cases or so ranging from slips and falls to the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster. But each instance has been based on subject-matter expertise and relevant professional distinctions. That is why Dr. Barkow has never been denied status as an Expert Witness in the U.S. or Canada. Granted, Ben also has a certain unflappable savoir-faire as a witness and writes coherent, well-structured prose, may we modestly add.
We have strengths in the following fields:
- Slips and Falls and pedestrian safety and
injuries from all causes arise due to some shortcoming of the facility
or the pedestrian. We conducted one of the largest studies of falls. We have worked with injuries and in
settings of all sorts and circumstances from the Pope's Mass and rock concerts to rustic cottages and including suicide.
- Civil litigation arises from injuries and
financial harm. Are there cognitive and perceptual shortcomings such as
instructions that some claim are hard to understand or products that are confusing
to use? In turn, is it the instructions or the user who should bear what proportion of liability for dire consequences?
- Traffic and transportation accident and injuries in residential, public, transport, and commercial settings — these are major arenas for death and injury from bicycle mishaps to the St. Clair Station transit disaster.
- Disputes involving Intellectual Property can hinge on issues of whether people confuse one product or concept with another. Do people find names confusingly similar? Do they buy a product from a retail display thinking they are buying the one they saw advertized on TV the other night?
U.S. and Canada
Dr.
Barkow is a citizen (and depending on the weather, resident) of both the U.S. and Canada and he has served as an expert in both
countries.
Want to know more?
Have you ever considered getting a bit of advice about a case from an applied psychologist, human factors specialist, or ergonomist? Or just curious to learn more? Use this link to contact Ben: dr.ben@bteam.com
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