Expert Witness in Rubber and Latex Products? The best renewable energy and biochemical consulting firms have experts in a wide variety of specialties, including rubber, latex, and products made from them. These firms can provide clients project expertise and be available as expert witnesses in many bio-related matters like biofuels, biochemicals, aquaculture, bio-fertilizers, bio-fibers, biomass-to-sugars, bioplastics, catalysis, cellulose, enzymes, food ingredients, synthetic biology and fermentation matters, biogas production and biogas upgrading, industrial chemicals, lubricants, nano carbons, nutraceuticals, organometallics, polymers, renewable chemicals, solvents and a myriad of other subjects.
What are rubber and latex products? As our rubber and latex expert notes from a recent show, the world’s “four most important natural resources are air, water, petroleum, and rubber.” The average person uses hundreds or even thousands of products made from rubber. When people talk about “rubber”, however, they often don’t specify which of the many different kinds of rubber – all of which fall into two broad types: natural rubber (called latex or latex rubber and grown from plants) and synthetic rubber (artificially made in a chemical plant or lab). The bottom line is that many things are made from rubber, like gloves, tires, plugs, and masks, and some things can only be made from rubber.
Rubber is used in things like the tires on our cars (which account for half of the world’s natural rubber and quite often end up in dumps, landfills, or burned in incinerators) to things like raincoats, pond liners, mattresses and cushions, pillows, grips on garden tools, bathtub plugs, doorstops, earplugs, hot water bottles, aquarium tubing, faucet washers, and rug backings. The healthcare industry uses enormous amounts of rubber in surgical tubing and gloves in labs and medical facilities, corks for lab flasks and vials, chemical-resistant mats and pads, birth-control devices, prosthetics, and other specialized products and equipment. Then there are household items like the elasticized bands in our clothing and hair ties, dishwashing gloves, toys, jar seals, garden hoses, and boots. Commercially, the most important synthetic rubbers are styrene-butadiene (SBR), polyacrylics, and polyvinyl acetate (PVA); other kinds include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polychloroprene (better known as neoprene), and various types of polyurethane. Although natural rubber and synthetic rubbers are similar in some ways, they’re made by entirely different processes and chemically they are very different.
This list of things made from rubber is virtually endless, and yet even though 5% to 10% of humans are allergic to natural latex rubber, it nonetheless remains a staple material source for many items. An expert in rubber or latex is a person who by virtue of his or her knowledge, experience, education, training, and skills has special knowledge of a subject that is not known to the general public. Some experts are hired purely as consultants to assist a party or attorney in better understanding the technical or scientific matters at hand. Others are truly hired as “expert witnesses” to both assist a party or attorney in better understanding the matters at hand and to testify in the legal proceeding. Some rubber and latex experts are hired to assist with a determination of exactly what happened and who was at fault. Others are hired to assist with determining the damages that occurred. Many are hired to help support both issues. See our blog on Latex Allergy Expert.
It is very important to choose an expert witness in rubber & latex products with not only the proper credentials but also one who can effectively translate complex, technical matters into terms that juries can easily understand. At Lee Enterprises Consulting, our 150+ experts are the top specialists in their fields. Our experts are the top in the world. Testifying as an expert is only a small part of their professional work. Our experts understand their role in proceedings and the relationship they should have with the hiring attorneys. For a full discussion on expert witnesses and hiring those in the bioeconomy, see our two articles: “The Expert Witness in Biofuels and Biochemicals Litigation” and “Hiring An Expert Witness in The Bioeconomy”. We also have highly qualified experts available to assist with any latex or rubber litigation, and virtually any other bioeconomy related matter. Feel free to call or email us for more information.
