Professional Engineer Expert Witness

Expert Witness No.204

California

Education

Graduated with Higher National Certificate (H.N.C.) 1950 - 1956 from Chance Technical College, Birmingham, England (B.Sc. equivalent).

U.S.C. 1379, Mechanical Engineering review Professional Engineers license - 12 week course.

Seminars Attended

Electrical fires, 1988, National Assoc. of Independent Insurance Adjusters
Fire and Arson in 1986 and 1987, National Fire Protection Association (one week)
Explosion and Arson, 1988, (NAFI) (2 days)
Insurance Fraud, 1987 (NAIIA)
Vehicle braking Tests, 1988
Road Hazards and safety, 1989 (Institute of Transportation)
Slip & fall, 1989, (4 days)
Investigation of Appliance Fires, 1999, (2 days)

Experience

1985-Present:  Owner of a Private Research Company (Name Available upon Request)
Providing technical investigation and analysis service to Legal and Insurance organizations, determining cause and origin of fires, personal injuries, accident reconstruction, property damage and safety hazards.

Providing expert opinions and reports for clients involved in legal disputes and/or insurance claims.  Listed with, and qualified as, an expert witness in California Municipal & Superior Courts.

1974-1984 Senior Staff Engineer (United Concrete Pipe)
Design of heavy production machinery.  Production tooling design for large concrete water transmission pipe.  Plant layout, and plant set-up.  Pressure vessel design.  Design of plant and special-purpose handling equipment, for hydraulic and electrically operated machinery.  Supervisor for (5) steam boilers.

1973-1974: Chief Engineer and Q.C. Manager for Ormond Inc.

Designed rocket thrust test equipment, load cells, weighing systems.  Application of strain gauges and transducers.

1967-1973: Three years as a Design Engineer for Walt Disney amusement park, designing rides and attractions.  Senior Project Engineer with Ling Electronics.  Design of vibration test equipment.  Developed an accelerometer calibrator used by the National Bureau of Standards.  Vibration isolation systems. 

1959-1967:  Design Engineer: Consumer Products, i.e., Disposals, ranges, washing and other household appliances.

1950-1959:  Engineering background in England, includes a five-year “hands on” indentured apprenticeship with a manufacturer of power generating equipment, i.e., steam engines, turbines.  Later, three years of aviation and commercial hydraulic pump and system development with Joseph Lucas.  Product development of aircraft fuel system components.

Publications

Newspapers involving matters of legal and insurance interest.  Optimatization of steam boiler air/fuel ratios.  Plant Engineering, 1979.

Areas of Expertise

Automotive accident reconstruction. Tire and brake failure investigation, seat belts, and component failure and vehicle fires.

Consumer and appliance products, defects and failures.

Slip, trip and falls, personal injury investigations.

Automated production machinery, such as presses and guarding.

Strength of materials and material/design failures.

Industrial accident investigation, i.e., involving forklifts, ladders, cranes, hydraulic machinery, presses, machine guarding, boilers, tanks, etc.

Fire and arson investigations, cause and origin determination

Professional Affiliations

N.A.F.I. - National Association of Fire Investigation (Former Director)
S.A.E. - Society Automobile Engineering
A.S.M.E. - American Society Mechanical Engineers
N.F.P.A. - American Fire Protection Association
A.S.S.E. - American Society of Safety Engineers
A.S.C.E. – American Society of Civil Engineers

State of California Engineer Status

Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer (License Number Available Upon Request)

Registered Professional Manufacturing Engineer (License Number Available Upon Request)

Listed on Los Angeles Superior and Municipals Court’s Qualified Expert Witness list under Accident Reconstruction and Forensic Engineer.  Appeared on many and a variety of cases for various Public Defenders Offices throughout Southern California.