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EXPERT WITNESSES / COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ACCIDENTS / FLORIDA AND THE SOUTHEAST

No Jargon.
No Jitters.

Just objective expert witness testimony and forensic analysis for complex commercial transportation litigation across Florida and the Southeast

Talk to a Transportation Expert
Line drawing of a semi truck with callouts for Human Factors and Toxicology Human Factors Toxicology

Jeffrey S. Hickman

Human Factors

18 years at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

Amanda M. Kogelschatz

Toxicology

Board-certified forensic toxicologist

THE STAKES ARE DIFFERENT
IN COMMERCIAL TRUCKING

A commercial trucking case is not a routine motor vehicle claim scaled up. Larger policies, federal regulatory exposure, and a wider evidentiary record change what “getting it right” requires, and what’s at stake if it isn’t.

500,000

CRASHES PER YEAR

23%

RESULT IN INJURY

5,300

FATALITIES PER YEAR

SOURCE: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

ONE COLLISION. RARELY ONE CAUSE.

When a commercial vehicle accident occurs it rarely points to a single cause. High-stakes litigation requires a team of experts who look at the whole picture, can explain the evidence simply to a judge and jury, and know how to maintain scientific objectivity and poise under aggressive cross-examination.

Understanding Human Behavior

HUMAN FACTORS

Visibility & nighttime conspicuity analysis

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems (ADS)

Driver distraction and fatigue

Perception and response time

Reasonable driver behavior

Assessing Impairment Evidence

TOXICOLOGY

Chain of custody, compliance, and best practices

Interpretation of drug and alcohol results

Limitations of toxicology testing

Impairment assessment

Alcohol calculations

Human Factors · Driver Behavior and Vehicle Technology

Jeffrey S. Hickman

PH.D.

How did the driver interact with the environment?

Jeff examines what the driver could see, how long they had to react, and whether fatigue or distraction affected their response.

18 years

accident-free commercial miles

35+ years

in commercial transportation

15 years

leading safety and compliance

Contact Jeff directly

+1 540 239 4878

[email protected]

Certifications and qualifications

  • Clinical Psychology, Ph.D.: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • Clinical Psychology, M.S.: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • Psychology, B.S.: University of Florida

Research experience

  • Eighteen years at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, where he led or contributed to research representing more than $43M in funding.
  • Received sponsorships and funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation and related agencies

Professional leadership

  • Former chair of the SAE task force on driver drowsiness and fatigue.
  • His distraction research is widely cited as a rationale for texting-while-driving bans and hands-free laws.
  • Nighttime conspicuity and visibility
  • Onboard safety monitoring and naturalistic driving data
  • Warning design and the driver–vehicle interface

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How did the driver interact with the environment?

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Toxicology · Alcohol and Drug Evidence

Amanda M. Kogelschatz

M.S.

D-ABFT-FT

Did driver impairment contribute to the accident?

Amanda reviews the testing method, the chain of custody, and what the concentration indicates about timing and impairment.

ABFT

board-certified

12+ years

in forensic toxicology

West Virginia University

forensic and investigative science

Contact Amanda directly

+1 518 416 3870

[email protected]

Certifications and qualifications

  • Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology (D-ABFT-FT).
  • Forensic and Investigative Science, M.S.: West Virginia University
  • Forensic and Investigative Science, B.S.: West Virginia University
  • Chemistry, B.A.: West Virginia University

Industry and testimony experience

  • Laboratory casework, interpretation, and testimony across transportation and criminal matters.
  • Criminal trial and deposition testimony experience
  • Expertise in evidence handling and chain of custody
  • More than 10 years’ experience supervising a state toxicology laboratory
  • First-hand experience working with a police department, including assisting in crime scene investigations and processing evidence

Teaching

  • More than 15 years’ experience as an adjunct chemistry and forensic science professor
  • DOT versus criminal DUI distinctions
  • Prescription and over-the-counter medication effects
  • Post-accident testing protocols

Earn Free CE and CLE Credit Hours

Learn directly from the experts you’d retain. Credits available in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and other select states.

Amanda M. Kogelschatz, M.S., D-ABFT-FT

Toxicology

On-Demand Webinar

CLE OPPORTUNITY

From Chemistry to Courtroom: The Role of Toxicology in Alcohol and Drug Cases

This session explains what forensic toxicology testing shows about alcohol and drug involvement in a case, and how those substances affect the body.

Watch the Session Now

Jeffrey S. Hickman, Ph.D.

Human Factors

Live Webinar

CE & CLE OPPORTUNITY

Human Factors Overview

This live, one-hour session explains how vision, distraction, fatigue, and reaction time can shape what a driver could see and do before a crash. October 21, 2026 · 10am CT.

Register for the Upcoming Webinar

CE OR CLE OPPORTUNITY

Build a Custom Session Around Your Team’s Questions

Combine the topics that matter most to your team into one presentation, built with a Rimkus representative as a webinar, lunch and learn, or on-site session.

Build a Custom Presentation

CLE OPPORTUNITY

Browse the Full Library

Our library covers the full range of the Transportation practice, including injury biomechanics, mechanical engineering, digital forensics, trucking safety, human factors, and toxicology.

Browse the On-Demand Library

Frequently asked questions

Our experts determine cause and contributing factors through objective, scientific analysis, and evaluate the reasonableness of the driver’s actions and the surrounding circumstances. We do not make legal determinations or predict case outcomes; that is left to the judge, jury, or client.

A test result is a data point. Interpreting what it means for impairment, timing, and behavior requires a toxicologist. Amanda Kogelschatz explains what the testing can and cannot tell you, including the limitations of specific test types and the chain of custody behind the sample.

Yes. Jeffrey Hickman, working with our Digital Forensics experts, evaluates whether safety-related technology — including advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving systems — performed as intended or contributed to a crash, and whether a driver response was available in the time there was.

Yes. Our experts are trial-tested and deposition-proven, and maintain strict scientific objectivity under aggressive cross-examination.

Human Factors, and Toxicology form the core of many engagements, coordinated as one team. When a case calls for it, the same team draws on Trucking Safety and Compliance, Vehicle Accident Reconstruction, Biomechanics, Digital Forensics, and Visual Media and Technology — under one point of contact..

The team works from 70+ offices across the United States, with an established track record in the Gulf South and Northeast and active growth in Florida and the broader Southeast.

Faster than most schedules assume. A commercial matter produces ECM and EDR data, ELD logs of duty status, dashcam footage, telematics, infotainment and device data, DOT files, and driver qualification files. That record is long and heterogeneous, which is the reason more than one discipline has to read it. Federal rules require carriers to retain ELD records of duty status and supporting documents for six months from date of receipt, with a back-up copy held for the same period (49 CFR 395.8(k)(1)), and onboard video overwrites on its own loop. James Desmond names the record types the preservation letter has to list; a general demand often does not reach the telematics.

Shippers, receivers, and brokers can all fall within the factual scope of a commercial matter, depending on the facts. Loading and securement practices, scheduling pressure, and carrier selection are examined the same way driver and carrier conduct is. Whether a given party carries legal exposure is a question for counsel and moves by jurisdiction; what James Desmond establishes is the factual record each party’s conduct left behind.

Talk to a Transportation expert.

Early case strategy or an active claim — tell us about your needs, and we’ll connect you with the right expert on the team.

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