Litigation Assistance
Client List

List of Don Searles Legal Consulting and Expert Witness Cases 

Summery of Cases and Experience

  • 20 Years Experience, 24 Cases, In 18 States.

  • Testified in court 5 times, Deposed 6 times.

  • Expert for the plaintiff in 19 cases.

  • Expert for the defendant in 5 cases.

  • 19 cases involved dredging.

  • 3 cases involved hydraulics and machinery.

  • 2 cases involved other matters.

  • 9 cases involved personal injuries or death.

 

List of Cases

 

 

2008 Washington DC:  Matson Construction Co, Inc. Vs United States of America.  Expert for defendant US Justice Dept.  Changed conditions on Nome Alaska dredging project.
   
2007 Georgia: Stephen Eiland Vs. Warn Industries, Inc. Expert for plaintiff. Mr. Eiland was paralyzed in an accident when the cable came off a Warn winch.
   
2006 Texas: Lytle Lake Water Control and Improvement District Vs. Shaw Invironmental, Inc.
Expert for plaintiff.  Testified at trial U.S. District Court, Northern Texas District, Abiline, TX.  Contractor abandoned a dredging project before it was completed. 
   
2005-2006 New York: Creative Waste Management Vs. City of New Rochelle, NY. Expert for plaintiff.  Testified at trial.  U. S. District Court, Southern New York District, White Plains, NY.  Changed conditions on dredging and dewatering project.  
   
2004 Kentucky: Consultant for Attorney- Mr. Click’s leg was amputated after it became caught in the auger on a dredge.  
   
2004-2006 Indiana: Justin Stichnoth Vs. FSLECC. Expert for plaintiff.  Testfied at trial, White County Superior Court, Monticello, Indiana.  Mr. Stichnoth’s neck was broken when he dove into a lake and hit his head on a dredge pipe. 
   
2004 Michigan: Consultant for CNA Insurance.  A quick connect bucket came off a hydraulic excavator, fell in a ditch and crushed a worker.
   
2003 New Jersey: Whibco Vs. Twinkle Co. Expert for plaintiff.  Testified at trial, Cumberland County Superior Court, Bridgton, New Jersey.  Dredge built by the Twinkle Co. could not attain the production guarantee.
   
2003 New Jersey: Spivey Vs. Weeks Marine, Expert for defendant.  Mr. Spivey claimed his back was injured when he lifted a mooring cable from a kevel on a hopper barge.
   
2002 California: Bartoli Vs. Hanson Aggregates, Expert for plaintiff.  Mr. Bartoli’s leg was seriously crushed when it became caught in a grizzly rake on a clam bucket dredge.
   
2002 Ohio: Browning Vs. John Deere Equipment, Inc. Expert for plaintiff.  Took deposition.  Mr. Browning was killed when the brakes, steering and transmission failed on his John Deere tractor.  The tractor crashed through a bridge railing and landed 25 feet below upside down.
   
2000 Texas: King Fisher Marine Service, Inc. Vs. M/V Socal 2, in rem, Kork Navagation Company, LTD. and Michael A. Curtis.  Consultant for plaintiff.  The ship M/V Socal 2 damaged the submerged dredge pipeline of King Fisher Marine Services. 
   
2000 Minnesota: Wild Bore, Inc. Vs. Ditch Witch of Minnesota, Inc. and Charles Machine Works, Inc. Expert for plaintiff.  Dispute about the design of the hydraulic system and the proper operation of a directional boring machine.
   
1999 New York: ECDC Vs. New York Marine and General Insurance Co.  Expert for defendant. ECDC spilled contaminated dredge material in Charleston, South Carolina harbor.
   
1998 New Jersey: Oldham Vs. Weeks Marine. Expert for defendant.  Mr. Oldham’s leg was broken when he attempted to clean debris from a 30-inch dredge pump.
   
1998 Illinois: Jarvi Vs. Great Lakes Dock and Dredging Co. Expert for plaintiff.  Took deposition.  Mr. Jarvi was seriously injured when a hose that was being replaced on the drag arm of a hopper dredge, came loose and he fell 15 feet and landed on the deck of a barge.
   
1997 Louisiana: OHM Remediation Vs. Citgo Petroleum.  Expert for plaintiff.  Took deposition.  Dredge equipment selection and production.
   
1997 Texas: Port of Corpus Christi Vs. TL James.  Expert for plaintiff. Took deposition.  Negligence in removing too much material.
   
1995 Pennsylvania:- Bethlehem Steel Vs. CNA Insurance. Consultant for CNA.  Bethlehem Steel claimed water flow and pressure had pushed bricks 1,200 feet along a pipeline. Evidence that I developed, proved that Bethlehem’s claim was not true.
   
1992 Connecticut: Carmi Vs. Bantam Lake Rehabilitation Committee.  Expert for plaintiff.  Miss Carmi’s face was severely injured when the jet-ski she was operating, caught a cable from a dredge.
   
1992 Michigan: Harbor Club Marina Vs. Luedtke Engineering. Expert for plaintiff.  Negligence in removing too much material.
   
1990 Missouri: Limited Leasing Vs. State of Missouri Highway Dept.  Consultant for plaintiff.  Change in material on a dredging project.
   
1989 Oklahoma: National Dredging & Pumping Corp. Vs. Poe and Associates.  Expert for plaintiff.  Testified at trial, U.S. District Court, Oklahoma Northern District, Tulsa, OK.  Sludge sampling.
   
1988 Illinois: Mississippi Valley Materials Vs. Holkamp Equipment Co.  Expert for plaintiff.  Dredge production.