ABSTRACT
The human factors specialist is a very likely candidate for some personal involvement with the legal system. It may be rather indirect, such as helping a company lawyer in answering written Interrogatories or Requests to Produce regarding human factors issues raised in a lawsuit. It may be as a company percipient (personal knowledge) witness who has to testify, under oath, at a Deposition or during Trial as to certain factual matters. It could be to assist (inform) lawyers in a lawsuit regarding human factors (liability mitigation), to recommend how to reduce existing human error or fault (liability correction), or to help develop a proposed human factors program within a company (liability prevention). However, the interaction with the law may be more direct and immediate either as a defendant in a lawsuit or when engaging in forensic activities such as that of an expert witness.
