Testifying Regarding the "Standard of Care"

Forensic experts are asked to provide testimony concerning technical issues in disputes involving failures and defects. Among the most critical of the areas of testimony, certainly from the perspective of an engineer defendant, is the presentation of opinion concerning the "standard of care" and whether a defendant met that level of performance. The evaluation of an engineer's performance, the definition of the duty the defendant owed the plaintiff, and the comparison of the defendant's performance with that "standard" are all questions of fact addressable by an expert witness. This paper discusses necessary components of a valid and reliable method an expert can use to support testimony concerning the standard of care.