Mechanical Engineer Safety Forklift Equipment Expert Witness

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING EXPERT

Experienced mechanical engineer (MS, PE) with seven issued patents. Award winning inventor. Vice President of A Private Engineering and Design Company, a mechanical engineering consulting company with clients around the United States ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies. Worked on the development of multiple successful products including among other things: aerial lifts, garbage trucks, thrill rides, ziplines, trailers, oil and gas equipment, exercise equipment, manufacturing equipment and multiple consumer products.

Graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Completed a master’s of science degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA with an emphasis in product development. Licensed professional engineer (PE) and a certified safety professional in comprehensive practice (CSP). Certified trainer for boom lifts, scissor lifts, rough terrain and counterbalanced forklifts. Over 10 years’ experience in product development, patents, equipment safety and risk assessments.

Experienced expert witness having drafted over 200 reports/declarations in patent cases and catastrophic injury and death cases. Designed and built multiple custom testing devices to obtain data and evaluate opinions.

Created multiple demonstratives to explain the mechanics and circumstances of accident sequences and patented devices. Testified in deposition 16 times and in trial three.

EDUCATION

• MBA, Brigham Young University, Emphasis in Product Development (2011)
• Masters of Science, Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University (2011)
• Thesis: Off-axis Stiffness and Piezoresistive Sensing in Large-displacement Linear-motion MEMS
• Areas of study: Compliant Mechanisms, Springs, Structural Analysis, MEMS, Stress and Deflection analysis, FEA, Machine Design, Product Development
• Bachelors of Science, Brigham Young University – Idaho, Mechanical Engineering (2007)
• Cum Laude Graduate
• Academic Scholarship
• Boy Scouts of America Scholarship

REGISTRATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Professional Mechanical Engineer (PE), Utah license, Idaho License
• Certified Safety Professional in Comprehensive Practice (CSP) License
• Certified Forklift Operator Certified Counterbalanced Forklift Operator Trainer
• Certified Rough Terrain Telehandler Operator Trainer
• Certified Aerial Boom Lift Operator Trainer
• Certified Aerial Work Platform (scissor lift) Operator Trainer

AREAS OF CONSULTING FOCUS

Involved in hundreds of consulting projects. Major areas of focus and expertise include: aerial lifts, trailers, towing systems, tarping systems, refuse trucks, exercise equipment, forklifts and telehandlers, drilling equipment, oil and gas equipment, heavy equipment, hydraulic equipment, consumer products, chairs and seating, plastic design, zip lines, thrill rides, structural analysis, designing to standards, and design for safety.

EXPERT WITNESS

This expert has been retained as an expert on over 85 patent, product liability, and personal injury cases and has testified in a number of these. He has worked as a senior associate on an additional 45+ patent cases and an additional 75+ product liability/personal injury cases. He attended SEAK expert witness training and has experience and competency in the following areas:

• Patent Invalidity/Non-infringement
• Patent Infringement/Validity
• Prior Art Searching
• Claim Construction
• Product Liability
• Personal Injury
• Failure Reconstruction
• Safety

PATENTS

During his time at the Private Engineering and Design Company, he has become familiar with patent prosecution and patent litigation. He has written several provisional patent applications, and has worked with attorneys in writing the specifications, creating drawings and drafting claims for utility patents on products he has helped design. As part of the product development process, he has performed patent searches, both for informational purposes and to lessen the likelihood that new developments would infringe other’s intellectual property. He is listed as in inventor on seven issued patents.

• 9,387,788 – Combination Trailer
• 9,616,799 – Pneumatic Tank Trailer
• 9,758,083 – Pneumatic Tank Trailer
• 9,789,916 – Pneumatic Tank Trailer
• 10,206,495 – Vehicle Receiver Hitch-Supported Cargo Rack Transformable into a Picnic Table with Benches
• 10,683,176 – Material Placer
• 11,013,391 – Scraper Apparatus

As an expert, he has also been involved in patent litigation in the areas of claim construction, prior art and patent searches, infringement/validity analyses and non-infringement/invalidity analyses on over 45 cases. The following are a few of the categories of patent issues he has consulted on:

• Semi Trailers Mobile Equipment
• Mobile Equipment
• Vehicle Mounted Equipment
• Agricultural Equipment
• Trailer Tarping Systems
• Oil/Gas Drilling Equipment
• Weight Machines
• Athletic equipment
• Plastic Components
• Office Supplies
• Food Processors
• Blenders
• Coffee and Tea makers
• E-Cigarettes
• Hospital Equipment
• Marching Band Equipment
• Hinges
• Seating
• Hand Tools
• Springs
• Car seat gap fillers
• Chairs
• Baby bottle warmers
• Cooler Latching Systems

PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS: Available Upon Request.

MAGAZINE AND WHITE PAPER PUBLICATIONS: Available Upon Request.

BLOG/LINKEDIN ARTICLES: Available Upon Request.