Experts In Civil Cases: An Inside View Book

Prichard (sociology, West Virginia U.) examines the interactions of forensic engineers and attorneys in product liability cases involving serious injury and death. The author explores the techniques, complex working relations, and intra-side conflicts that occur between attorneys and engineering experts as they evaluate evidence and account for "what happened" in particular accidents. The study is based on the author's experience of working with attorneys and experts as a paralegal in a private law firm for a year; data gathered during a second year interviewing plaintiff attorneys, defense attorneys, and forensic engineers outside the firm; and case files. The study reveals "the remarkable extent to which attorneys and engineers co-produce the very professional boundaries thought to separate them." Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR