Pipeline Expert Witnesses

What is a pipeline expert witness?

Pipeline expert witness candidates are typically professional engineers with backgrounds and expertise in pipeline construction, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, and/or civil engineering. Piping expert witnesses can provide support on matters related to corrosion, pipeline construction, and/or pipeline leaks. Often, the expert is a member of industry organizations such as the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL), Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI), the Pipeline Industries Guild, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), and/or the American Petroleum Institute.

What types of cases require a pipeline expert witness?

A subject matter expert in pipeline technology and programs might be called upon to provide expert testimony in a class action litigation cases, intellectual property disputes, personal injury matters, or public health investigations.

Pipeline expert witness case examples

On behalf of the plaintiff or defendant, Cahn Litigation Services has completed numerous searches for expert witnesses with specialized knowledge in pipeline issues, including cases involving:

• pipeline integrity,
• construction defect,
• construction safety,
• natural gas pipeline, and
• pipeline safety.

What litigation support work might a pipeline expert witness be expected to perform?

Litigation support services by a pipeline expert witness could include failure analyses, arbitration, providing expert opinions, research and authoring expert reports, depositions, and expert witness testimony in court. In a high-profile case, or litigation involving a significant financial stake, a law firm may request a qualified expert with prior expert witness experience. In addition, clients may seek a pipeline expert for pre-litigation consulting work.

Cahn Litigation Services has the experience required to turn a search for a pipeline expert witness around quickly, providing the right balance of expertise and testimony experience.

Related Disciplines

Pipeline Expert Witness - Representative Bios

Please Note: All Cahn Litigation expert witness searches are customized to attorneys' precise specifications and preferences. Attorneys are encouraged to discuss search parameters with a Cahn search specialist.

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The below expert witness bios represent a small fraction of those Pipeline experts known by Cahn Litigation Services. These bios are provided to give lawyers a sense of the Pipeline landscape.

• Expert Witness #210598

  This expert, besides being a Full-Professor of mechanical engineering, has performed engineering analysis and provided expert witness testimony and consulting, including validity/invalidity arguments in patent infringement litigation, in the areas of Mechanical Design, Stress Analysis and Materials. The focus of this expert's graduate research was on vessels (read pipes) under high pressure and flanges (read couplings) to join the vessels. This expert has also been involved in cases involving various types of piping as well as the failure of clamps and couplings used for connecting piping under internal pressure. As a Professor of Mechanical Engineering with specialization in the areas of design, materials science, and failure analysis, this expert teaches concepts needed for design of couplings.

  
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• Expert Witness #227074

  This expert holds a PhD in Metallurgy and brings to the table many years of experience in the areas of materials engineering, failure analysis and engineering investigations. This expert’s doctoral research dealt with safely containing hazardous, explosive materials and this is also true for much of this expert’s industrial consulting work. This expert has direct experience with grey cast iron in terms of pipeline corrosion and prediction of fatigue life in cast iron vessels.

  This expert’s code related work has involved pressure vessel and pipeline codes. This work has involved assessing old cast iron pressure vessels for conformance to current codes. Below is a summary of example work experience:

  Cast iron experience:

  1.  Life estimate for buried pipe
  2. Water main failure in river crossing
  3. Stray current induced corrosion failure

  Metallurgical/Fatigue Life for gray cast iron:

  1. Remaining life prediction for very old dryers
  2. Fitness for service on old paper mill dryer drums
  3. Failure prediction in check valve bodies
  4. Failure of brake drums

  Code Experience:

  1.  Repair procedures for damaged batch digesters
  2. Life prediction for dryers and dryer drums
  3. Butane gas line explosion
  4. Steam piping analysis and failures
  5. Refrigeration line failures
  6. API/ASME 579 Fitness for Service experience

  Risk for Natural Gas Transport:

  This expert’s graduate course work and dissertation dealt with preventing explosions (liquid natural gas). Much of this expert’s professional experience has involved efforts to prevent explosions or determining why explosions occurred. This is a poorly understood problem and one that many companies are ignoring. This expert has directed NDT or inspection efforts in a number of different applications.

  
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• Expert Witness #235964

  This expert is an Energy Economist with strong public utility experience and a solid understanding of Utility rate design, Pipeline rate design and how they work together. This expert regularly provides advice on cost allocation, pricing, cost of capital and regulatory accounting policy reform, and market design issues to utilities, private energy firms, independent system operators and energy regulatory commissions both domestic and international. This expert has provided expert testimony before state public utility commissions on electricity and natural gas rate design, marginal cost analysis, electricity rate structures, reforms to tariffs for customers with distributed generation and net metering and efficient power contract design.  

  
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• Expert Witness #244701

  This expert is a Professional Engineer with experience in drilling and completions engineering and operations management, as well as proven expertise in optimizing well design, planning and operations for drilling. This expert has a solid track record of providing high level engineering design, operations management and substantial cost saving. Accomplished in drilling optimization, performance improvement and Technical Limit process, this expert has designed and constructed vertical, directional, and horizontal wells for oil and gas production and environmental remediation; as well as horizontal bores for pipeline installations and utility crossings. As a skilled team leader and mentor with strong ability to coach and motivate junior staff; prioritize and manage multiple concurrent activities meeting deadlines and financial objectives, this expert's proactive approach ensures job quality, workplace safety, regulatory compliance and environment protection. This expert has performed numerous analyses to determine the mechanisms that cause failures of drill bits, downhole tools, tubulars, rig structures, assemblies, components, and overall drilling systems. This expert has prior litigation experience, having written reports and been deposed, but has yet to have the pleasure of testifying in court.

  
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• Expert Witness #260804

  This expert is a land use / land planning expert with a particular focus on planned communities. Development and management of thousand-acre tracts requires specific expertise in mineral rights easements and leases, permitting, entitlement, use priority, and environmental sensitivity. This expert has specific experience in civil construction projects including roadways, well construction, pipeline laying, trench safety, and excavation. This expert provides technical investigations, analysis, reports, and testimony toward the resolution of commercial claims and personal injury litigation involving land planning, permitting, real estate acquisitions and development, construction practices, premises and construction site safety, civil engineering, and project management. This expert has expert witness experience.

  
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• Expert Witness #261279

  This expert has worked in the energy industry for many years completing assignments encompassing the entire energy value chain. This expert was responsible for reservoir engineering evaluations associated with exploration and development projects, assessment of the economic value of acquisition and divestiture activities, analysis of natural gas shut in strategies, pipeline/plant engineering design, pipeline/plant construction and operations management of existing production properties. This expert was in domestic crude oil trading and marketing. In the crude trading group, this expert evaluated transportation logistics, analyzed the operations of refineries, assessed the commercial aspects of potential mergers and asset trades, and formulated options and futures strategies.

  This expert has been involved in a wide variety of assignments and is frequently retained to advise clients on both technical and commercial issues related to mergers, asset transactions, project development and start up, bankruptcy/workout, and dispute resolution. This expert has experience in the transportation, processing, refining, marketing, and electrical generation sectors.

  Throughout the course of this expert's consulting career, this expert has advised clients on both technical and commercial issues related to mergers, asset transactions, project development, business start-ups, bankruptcy/workout, and dispute resolution.

  This expert has experience in the transportation, processing, refining, marketing, and electrical generation sectors and brings many years of direct experience in the energy industry including project evaluation, development, and management; operations management; and contract evaluation/negotiation.

  This expert is a frequent speaker at national and international energy industry conferences and is the author of 25 papers and presentations covering the industry's technical, economic, and commercial matters.

  
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• Expert Witness #261290

  This expert began a career supporting operations in an integrated petrochemical complex. This expert held engineering as well as business management positions. This expert moved up the oil and gas value chain, into the midstream sector. As Manager of Natural Gas Engineering and Project Management, this expert led the development of a midstream infrastructure to support the growth in upstream operations a shale play. As Director of Engineering and Pipeline Operations, this expert led the pipeline design, engineering, construction, and commissioning as well as operations and maintenance activities. Development activities included pipeline, gathering, and storage assets for crude oil and gas. This expert draws on diverse experiences in the midstream and downstream sectors to provides analyses of both technical and economic issues and advise clients regarding interests in the energy sector.

  
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