Accident
Investigations
Accident
Reconstructions
Laboratory
and On-Site Testing
Origin
and Cause Determinations
Hazard Analysis and Evaluations
Photography
and Videotaping
Deposition
and Trial Testimony
Forensic Services
The forensic engineer applies scientific principles of
engineering to investigate failures that resulted in bodily injury and/or
property damage, usually relating to a variety of legal circumstances.
He or she may be named as an expert witness for the purpose of giving
testimony of findings and opinions in court.
Forensic Services at Russell Fote and Associates include:
An accident is an undesired event that resulted
in bodily injury and/or properly damage. Consequently,
the investigation of an accident takes place to establish the timing of
critical events for the purpose of determining all causes of the
accident, both immediate and contributing. This may involve examining the
accident site, gathering and evaluating physical evidence including witness
statements, taking photographs, measurements and making calculations.
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For the most part, almost all
accident investigations expose suspect cause or causes. Therefore, the forensic engineer may need to perform an accident
reconstruction, which usually requires a through understanding of all sequence
of events prior to the accident. The
reconstruction of an accident entails a reenactment in a controlled setting.For example, a woman was injured when the plastic resin chair she was
sitting in collapsed. To reenact the
failure, multiple 50-pound salt bags, which replicated the claimant’s weight,
were placed on the chair.
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- Laboratory
and On-Site Testing
On-site testing could be
accomplished at the injury site or on-site at Russell Fote and Associates. Outside laboratory
facilities are also used such as for testing flammable
fabrics.
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- Origin
and Cause Determinations
Russell Fote and Associates
follows the scientific method to determine the origin and cause of an accident. This
sequence is: defining the problem, collecting data, analyzing the
data, developing suspect origins and causes and re-analyzing each suspect origin
and cause to determine those most probable.
For example, the forensic engineer usually investigates a fire to first
determine its origin, which generally involves finding and analyzing fire
patterns, physical site evidence, witness interviews and statements. Once the origin is
determined, the cause or causes of a fire may be
relatively easy to determine using the scientific method.
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- Hazard
Analysis and Evaluations
A hazard is an underlining threat
that could generate into bodily injury and/or property damage. To determine these underlining threats, the identification phase is first
introduced, which may involve the following: inspections, interviews, audits of
pertinent records and research using reference resources such as the Internet,
etc. Once the hazard is analyzed,
the evaluation phase is next. This
results in defining the significance of the hazard with its likelihood of
occurring, both for frequency and severity. The final step is the preventative phase, which is first directed at
eliminating the hazard and/or controlling the hazard so as to reduce the threat
of bodily injury and/or property damage.
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- Photography
and Videotaping
- Deposition
and Trial Testimony
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