Seminars For Legal Professionals
We are pleased to present our current listing of Seminars and Workshops for insurance claims and legal professionals, presented by one of our senior technical experts. Our Programs are tailored to assist adjusters and claims executives, as well as attorneys and forensic accountants who serve the insurance industry. These seminars cover some of today's most pressing issues.
Our seminars are approved for CEU and CLE credit in many states where continuing education is required. LWG is continually updating and submitting courses for approval, and is able to offer a wide variety of CE credit options.
Investigating Industrial Fires: Not your usual investigation
Industrial fires can be as radically different from typical commercial fires as they are from vehicle fires: Unique machines, sophisticated electronics, futuristic automation and complex power distribution systems are just a few of the features that pose unique challenges for those who need to "get to the bottom" of the cause of an industrial fire.
This informative presentation helps participants understand the special concerns associated with investigating fires in industrial buildings and provides invaluable advice for investigating their origin and cause.
Electrical Fires: What you need to know about Origin and Cause
Over 40,000 residential fires are attributed to electrical failures each year. The frequency of electrical fires in commercial structures is equally staggering. A basic understanding of the root causes of electrical fires and their investigation is essential for anyone involved in liability and subrogation claims.
This informative seminar provides practical insight needed in dealing with electrical fires. The program starts with an informative overview of the basic principles of electricity and fire theory for the non-scientist. The steps necessary for a successful, defensible origin-and-cause investigation are also covered. At the conclusion of the program, the participants' newfound knowledge is put to practical use in discussing real-life cases.
Successful Product Liability Investigations- What's important: expert qualifications or process?
Every year, the opinions of otherwise qualified engineers are discarded by courts because of the experts' failure to adhere to the principles outlined in NFPA 921. The NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation is often viewed as the de facto standard for such investigations, yet its purpose and content remain widely misunderstood. The result is botched examinations, ineffective defenses, and lost opportunities for recovery.
This interactive workshop provides non-technical professionals with essential knowledge of NFPA 921 and the impact that it can have on their work. Special emphasis is placed on the pitfalls that hamper the effectiveness of evidence collection, handling and testing. Recent court cases illustrate how the seminar participants can avoid the mistakes that cost others significant money and peace of mind.
Investigation of Recovery Options For Legal Professionals: The Engineering Approach
This seminar focuses on the process of investigating and identifying subrogation potential. This includes the application of the systematic approach using the scientific method to formulate expert opinions. Issues related to performing inspections, establishing testing protocols, maintaining chain of custody, preservation of artifacts and other related issues are discussed, and ways to overcome challenges are explained.
Participants will gain a better understanding of the main points and important issues through utilization of real-life losses.
Appliance Fires: Failure or Fraud?
The facts are clear: According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there are over 24,300 residential appliance fires each year, resulting in 100 deaths and 925 injuries per annum. Less clear, however, is why these appliances cause fires in the first place.
This presentation educates non-technical professionals about the design and operation of appliances with particular emphasis on safety mechanisms and typical failure modes. Also provided are practical steps to investigate whether appliances were intentionally altered to cause them to fail catastrophically or to act as an ignition source.
Engineers as Expert Witnesses: What I wish my client knew about my role
Investigating complex incidents requires a team approach utilizing the knowledge and expertise of different professionals. Engineers contribute ominously to the investigative process and thereby affect the early decision making process. When it comes to litigation, however, the role of engineers remains dubious at best. How should an attorney utilize the knowledge and expertise of their engineering experts? Should engineers' participation be limited to rendering a technical opinion, or should they fully participate in the litigation process? What are the limitations of engineers' involvement in the litigation process? What is the best way to present complex technical concepts to jurors?
This seminar is designed to answer these and many other questions from an engineer's perspective, thus providing attorneys with understanding of the engineer's role in the litigation process. Drawing on years of experience rendering expert opinions and testifying in court, one of our engineers would present case studies to demonstrate how to utilize engineers as expert witnesses in litigation.
Presenting Expert Opinions in Court: Educating average jurors
High-quality engineering opinions presented in court by highly qualified expert witnesses can often be overlooked or misunderstood due to the complexity of the case and the technical theories it involves. This can adversely affect the outcome of an otherwise perfectly litigated case.
Simplifying technical theories and presenting it in plain language so jurors can comprehend the details of an expert's opinion requires understanding of the process of formulating these opinions.
This cutting-edge seminar covers many of the engineering facts, processes, and terms used most often in litigation involving product failure. The seminar presents and discusses tools that can be used to educate average jurors so they understand the point of view you are trying to convey.
Power Quality Claims: Who is responsible?
It is no longer uncommon for a company in California to buy electricity generated in Texas from a firm in New York. With the continued deregulation and the interconnectivity of the electrical grid, it is increasingly difficult to determine the technical cause of a power disturbance, not to mention who might be responsible for the incident.
This seminar provides participants with an understanding of the different power quality problems that cause damage to equipment. In particular, wiring problems, grounding issues, machinery operations, utility operations and lightning are examined closely.
Participants will gain a better understanding of the steps needed to evaluate claims, investigate causes and identify the responsible party.