Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

Re: need electricution expert to testify about pain/suffering in lawsuit

My firm, which is relatively famous for handling some of the largest and most complex plaintiff's cases around the country, uses experts at all times.

My expectation is that the matter you are describing would require the testimony of several different expert witnesses; including engineering experts to testify about the design and safety of the fountain, the human factors involved in the fall, and related matters; medical experts who will testify as to the time and cause of death; and economists and related experts who will testify regarding various aspects of damages. With full facts, there may be other experts required as well.

My expectation is that I would have a physician testify as to "conscious pain and suffering" (this is a legal term of art in Maryland).

Frankly, there are probably hundreds of physicians in Maryland who could testify as to the effects of electrocution. However, identification of a witness to actually use in a case like this would not be done lightly by any good attorney -- rather, that choice would be made after some pretty serious investigation and evaluation of different possibilities, prior testimony experience, and evaluation of more detailed facts of the case. Thus, no good attorney would make a specific recommendation for such an expert without conducting a proper evaluation and investigation of both the facts and of potential expert witnesses.

Actually, this sounds like a pretty major case. I am rather surprised that your nephew's family does not already have counsel doing such things right now.

They (and you) need to have high-end attorneys evaluating such things very early in the process if the best result is to be obtained.

I would be happy to chat with you for a bit if you like -- even if just to help you confirm that the current attorneys are doing what you need them to do at this time.

If the family does not have counsel working on this, it should obtain counsel immediately -- vital information will dissipate as time passes and may affect the possibility of a successful result.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

Re: need electricution expert to testify about pain/suffering in lawsuit

An attorney can frame the issues for your case a lot better. I can give you a list of "experts" in the field. I am a little surprised though that you do not have an attorney pursuing what appears to be a major case. You should at least ask for a free legal consultation. Again, assuming you do not have one, I can tell you, attorneys, in a case like this spend a lot of hours planning, investigating, developing strategies. We do no get paid if we don't win, and we end up fontload funding whatever we feel is needed to present a solid case with maximum rccovery. If you'd like, I would be glad to discuss this with you. Call me after, say, 4pm tomorrow. (301)441-3131. I am also in the office Saturday. I could also come and meet with you, but please disregard this if you already have an attorney and you are simply inquiring about experts at his request or to assist. We are very resourceful. Attorneys have a variety of other sources to get this kind of info actually. Call me for more insights.