Forensic Engineers and Consultants

Archive: Liability Claim

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

Author

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

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

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

Author

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

Analysis of Double Fatality Fire Allegedly Caused by a Portable Electric Heater

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When fires occur, the effect on people’s lives is often devastating. This is especially true with fires that cause the death of a child. Clearly it is important to try and find the causes of such fires so that they can be prevented in the future. In such circumstances, it is especially important to follow a rigorous methodology in investigating the origin and cause of a fire. Investigators following a less than rigorous methodology may reach improper conclusions. Such was the case in a devastating fire investigated by Warren that was improperly alleged to have been caused by a supposedly defective product, a small electric space heater.
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Firefighter Burned Due to Improper Industrial Oven Design and Operation

Author

Industrial ovens and furnaces are used in many manufacturing processes.  One use of industrial ovens is for drying and curing coatings on fabrics.

We investigated a fire loss involving a very large oven, 10 stories high, used for curing coatings on an industrial fabric. A young firefighter was burned in response to this fire, one of a string of many fires that had occurred involving the oven.

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Gas Cylinder Leaks: What’s that Odor? Get out quick!

Author

Pressurized cylinders filled with various gases are very common, from the propane fuel tank under your barbeque grill to acetylene for welding to fluorine for production of many common products.  A leak from almost any of these can cause damage or significant losses, from a fire to physical injury, or asphyxiation.

Owner protection against losses and injury can range from nothing to significant, such as storage in ventilated closets or gas detection alarms. In one case the regulator valve on a small CO2 cylinder used in a bar to pressurize beer kegs broke off. The cylinder rocketed around the bar room, causing at least one serious injury. Read More

Why did he fall off the edge? – Part 2 of series on Fall Through Openings

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As an experienced safety consultant, I have investigated many incidents in which a worker falls through an opening.  The majority of these types of fall incidents have occurred at construction sites and most resulted in a serious injury or death. Read More

Bolted Connection Failures

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One of the most common features of machinery, consumer products, and assemblies of any type is the bolted joint. Sometimes the joint fails, with results ranging from inconsequential to catastrophic. The design of a joint is in the purview of an engineer, who must consider the material to be joined, the geometry of the joint, the loads imposed on the joint, the strength of the connectors (i.e., bolts, screws) environmental effects (i.e., temperatures, corrosion) and perhaps other factors. Read More

Freeze Damage to Fire Sprinkler Systems

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The ongoing frigid temperatures serve as a reminder of the many investigations by Warren engineers involving fire sprinkler systems that have failed when some part of the system was exposed to the sub-freezing conditions. Interestingly, failures do not necessarily occur within the area of greatest freeze exposure, as the failure mechanism is the extreme pressure that results from the growth of an ice plug inside the exposed pipe in which the high pressure will rupture the weakest component which may even be located in a heated area of the sprinkler system. Read More

Hand and Finger Injuries from a Defective Snow Blower

Author

Nearly everyone who lives in a snowy climate would agree that a gas powered snow blower beats a person powered snow shovel for clearing the sidewalk or driveway.  Shoveling heavy, wet snow causes injuries from back problems to heart attacks.  No wonder that gas powered snow blowers of all sizes are a popular item this time of year.  The larger ones may be ride-on types; smaller ones are typically walk-behind.  In either case there is an auger to gather the snow as the device moves forward and a bladed fan (or “blower”) to discharge it out of a chute to one side or the other.  Read More

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