DRINENY Hosts Forensic Weather Expert Howard Altschule

The Defense Research Institute of Northeastern New York, and Christopher Guetti of Smith Dominelli & Guetti, president, hosted Howard Altschule, lead meteorologist and founder of Forensic Weather Consultants LLC. The presentation provided insight into Howard’s command of weather data, and how it can be used in a variety of different premises liability and property loss claims.

He and consulting meteorologist John Lombardo showed the increasing sophistication of the technology, and how it can assist to support or refute claims.  Say a line of storms have come through and caused considerable property damage to a certain geographical area, his expertise can be used to verify an insured’s claim for a new roof has not been fraudulently made, confirming whether a particular property fell within the damage zone of a particular storm.  When it comes to premises liability, the combination of data and expert opinion can assist in determining whether ice had been present on the walking surface for a sufficient period of time such that the property owner should have known that it existed.  He also discussed how reliance on weather records available online alone may not be reliable, and has personally been involved in seeking amendments to those types of records as a result of his research. 

We want to thank Howard and John for taking the time to present to the DRI.