Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Liability Claim

Danger Lurking in the Hot Tub

Several dangers involving the use of a hot tub (spa) may readily come to mind, such as the risk of shock or electrocution, or the risk of drowning for unsupervised young children.  Not so readily apparent is the effect of overheating the human body, or “hyperthermia”.

Some individuals are more susceptible to the effects of hyperthermia, including the elderly, young children, and those in poor health.  The effects of hyperthermia, or overheating of the human body, cause direct responses such as headache, nausea, heat exhaustion, increased cardiac output, lethargy, confusion, heat stroke and unconsciousness.  The onset of hyperthermia is defined as being at 99.5° F; if the body temperature reaches 104° F, a life-threatening medical emergency exists.  Read More

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Figure 1: A view of a playground with impact absorbing surfacing. The brightly colored surfacing beneath the play equipment is a poured-in-place rubber and polyurethane material.

Children Will Fall At Playgrounds. What Shall We Do To Protect Them? A Multipart Blog Series – Part III: An Overview of Selected Playground Safety Technologies

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Co-Authored with Aron Olson, PE

Welcome to the third and final post in our multipart series of blog posts about a young boy’s fall and serious injury at a public playground. In our first post we gave a brief overview of the incident and our investigation. In the second post we discussed some of the safety standards applicable to public playgrounds. In this post, we will examine some of the impact-absorbing playground surfaces available to protect children at playgrounds from injury. If you would like to read the first two posts, they are available here and here.
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Figure 1: A view from a vendor's website of a material known as engineered wood fiber that is designed for use as a playground surface.

Children Will Fall At Playgrounds. What Shall We Do To Protect Them? A Multipart Blog Series – Part II: A Brief Summary of Playground Safety Standards

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Co-Authored with Aron Olson, PE   

Welcome to the second part in our multipart blog series examining a young boy’s fall and injury at a public playground. If you missed the first part in this series, click www.warrenforensics.com/2017/10/11/children-will-fall-at-playgrounds-what-shall-we-do-to-protect-them-a-multipart-blog-series-part-i/ to read it. In this post, we will highlight some resources that designers of public playgrounds can use to help ensure their designs are reasonably safe. Read More

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Children Will Fall At Playgrounds. What Shall We Do To Protect Them? A Multipart Blog Series – Part I

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Co-Authored with Aron Olson, PE   

In 2011, a 5-year old boy was severely injured at a public playground when he fell through a second floor opening around a fireman’s pole in a playhouse. He fell more than seven feet and struck a bare concrete floor. We are thankful that he eventually recovered from his injuries. The person who designed and built the playground was accused of negligence. A lawsuit ensued, and eventually settled in favor of the boy. Read More

Figure 1: A view of the blower machinery.

Improper Design Leads to Fatigue Failure In Blower Shaft

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A blower used to exhaust air from an industrial process stopped functioning when the blower wheel drive shaft fractured.  The process, and thereby most of the plant, had to operate at a reduced volume until the blower wheel could be replaced.  The blower wheel had been installed during a shutdown a week before the incident.  The blower wheel was a spare installed when the existing blower wheel was sent for scheduled remanufacturing. Read More

A clevis pin with the spring clip attached.

Defective Clevis Pin Culprit in Runaway Trailer

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A large agricultural trailer had been connected to a truck using a clevis pin with a spring locking clip.  The trailer became disconnected from the truck and collided with an oncoming vehicle.  The trailer was in poor condition, did not have safety chains, and had substantial recent modifications by the owner. Read More

Figure 2. A view looking into the mixer. The grate and ribbon are visible. The grate openings are large enough to admit a worker's leg.

Case Study of an Injury Involving a Soil Mixer

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Co-Authored with Aron Olson, P.E.

In May, 2014, a plant farm worker was seriously injured when he fell into the hopper of an electrically powered soil mixer.  The mixer in question used a rotating steel ribbon powered by a 7-1/2 hp electric motor to mix batches of materials such as sand, mulch, wood shavings, fertilizers and other landscaping materials to create potting soil. At the top of the hopper sidewalls, within 6 inches of the ribbon, was a steel grate. Read More

Figure 2: A self-propelled roof bolter similar to the one described in this post. The canopy is on the extreme left of the image.

A Case Study in a Coal Mine: What are a Machine Rebuilder’s Responsibilities?

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Co-Authored with Aron Olson, P.E.

In November of 2010, a miner was injured by a roof bolting machine (roof bolter) in an Alabama underground coal mine. The roof bolter in question had undergone a complete rebuild intended to return the machine to the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) specifications. Warren was hired to analyze both the design of the roof bolter and the actions of the rebuilder to determine if either contributed to the unfortunate coal miner’s serious injury. Background information on coal mining and roof bolters, as well as an analysis of the roof bolter and the actions of the rebuilder are included. Read More

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Painting of Handicap Ramps

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As an experienced safety consultant, I’m called on to investigate a wide range of premises liability incidents. One common premises liability incident that often results in serious injury is a fall on a handicap ramp. There are at least four types of handicap ramps – flare side, parallel, returned curb and built-up. Read More

Figure 1: An illustration of a properly constructed flared side curb ramp.

A Steep Price: Improperly sloped curb ramps increase the potential of serious pedestrian injury

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As an experienced safety consultant, I’m called to investigate a wide range of premises liability incidents. One common premises incident that often results in serious injury is a fall on a curb ramp. There are at least four types of curb ramps: flare side, parallel, returned curb and built-up. This post will focus primarily on flare side curb ramps which are the most common type constructed today. Read More

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