Expert Witness Services

When brought into a case, I will piece the weather situation back together using a variety of data sources. The level of specificity that can be obtained when determining past weather occurrences depends on the particular location and weather that existed during the period in question. Usually this can only be determined after reviewing the appropriate data sources. In some cases a very specific determination can be made. It may be possible to pinpoint a strong wind gust down to the actual minute it occurred, for example. In other situations, conclusions may be more general - say the snow depth for a town that is 30 miles from the nearest weather station. However by interpolating data from a variety of sources, I can summarize for you what the weather conditions were for any U.S. location on a past date.

Most of the data that I use originates from the National Weather Service archives at the National Climatic Data Center. Some of this data can be certified, if you wish. All of the data and certification that I obtain for your case is at cost. I do not mark up the price of the data - I only bill you for my time and my cost to obtain the data. You will find that this not only saves you considerable time in trying to decide what data sources will be appropriate to your case, but also allows you to utilize my experience and expertise in acquiring the most appropriate data for your case, including sources that you may not realize are available to you.

Costs:

Initial consultations are always free.  Time is billed at $200/hour.  Most of the written reports that I do take about 1.25-1.75 hours.  I will provide you with rush service, if possible, at no additional cost for time, however some data may cost significantly more if has to be obtained within 48 hours.  Travel is billed at 1/2 time plus costs.  Maximum time billed is capped at 7.5 hours for any calendar day.  Whether you need me to testify in Connecticut or California, the maximum cost for one day will be $1500 plus any costs incurred.  All services are pre-paid via a replenishable retainer.  The initial retainer to open a new case is $500.  Half of this is non-refundable.  Invoices will be presented for time and costs incurred that will bring the retainer balance back to $500. Once you notify me that the case has closed or you no longer will require my services, I will return the retainer balance to you and discard my file on the case.  The retainer amount will be increased to cover estimated costs for expert witness testimony and related costs.   I can also provide you with expert testimony or consultation via videoconference, if you prefer, to reduce travel costs.

I hope that the next time you have a weather-related case you will contact me.  Even if you do not wish to utilize my services to obtain data or render an opinion, I can probably give you some valuable suggestions.  Feel free to contact me for further information about forensic weather services.  You may place an order by completing the Order Form and Fee Schedule below and mailing them to the address at the bottom of this page along with the initial retainer.  I look forward to working with you!

Printable Forms (.pdf format - Adobe Acrobat):    Order Form   Fee Schedule/Retainer Agreement  Curriculum Vitae