Should Forensic economists experts do independent background checks?

In lost profits cases and business interuption cases, it is routine for the economist to perform a thorough search into the background of the business. Economists in these cases at a minumum will search thru pages and pages of websites to look at the nature of the business, public news, and search public records.

In injury, death, and employment cases, unless the information is brought to the attention of the expert, this type of search is not done for the target of the lost earnings analysis.

However, should this be done?

More an more information about a person's background, such as criminal history, is easily accessible on the web. For instance, in a post at Gritsforbreakfast, Texas Jail Inmate Locators Online, he found a website that list arrest record sources for all 50 states ( this page ) on ancestorhunt.com, a genealogy site. Other information, like it or not, is fairly easy to obtain.