scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Report- Children Falling Through Window/Guardrails

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Expert Witness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
Code Changes

More Than 1000 Children Are Killed And More Than 6000 Children Are Injured By Falls Through Windows And Guardrails Each Year In The United States. Beginning In 2006, The International Codes (Now Adopted At Least In Part Of All 50 Of The United States) Require 4 Maximum Window Gaps Within 24 Of Floor, And Since The 1990s The Codes Have Required 4 Maximum Guardrail Gaps. Implementation Of These Codes On Many Existing Structures Is Required (Not Grandfathered), But Is Generally Not Enforced Which Would Prevent A High Percentage Of These Tragedies. Relevant History, Grandfathering, And Forensic Engineering Advocacy Are Discussed, Expert Witness Case Examples Are Presented, And Recommendations Are Made For Enforcement And Code Changes.

scholarly journals The Forensic Engineer in State and Federal Court

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Ziernicki
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Expert Witness ◽  
Federal Court ◽  
The United States ◽  
Court System ◽  
Civil Lawsuits ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
And Function

This paper outlines the legal system in the United States, the different types of courts, the differences between criminal and civil law, and the role of forensic engineering experts involved in civil lawsuits. After providing a summary of relevant procedures employed by civil and criminal courts, the paper describes the basic principles and requirements for the selection and work of a forensic engineering expert in both the state and federal court system. This paper outlines the role and function of forensic experts (specifically forensic engineers), in the United States court system. It is not a treatise on the legal system but on the role of experts. The paper presents the requirements typically used in today’s legal system to qualify a forensic engineer as an expert witness and to accept his or her work and opinions. Furthermore, this paper discusses who can be an expert witness, the expert’s report, applicable standards, conducted research, engineering opinions, and final testimony in court — and how those elements fit into the legal system. Lastly, the paper describes the concept of spoliation of evidence.

scholarly journals Challenges in Bridge Health Monitoring: A Review

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 4336
Author(s):  
Piervincenzo Rizzo ◽  
Alireza Enshaeian
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Highway Bridges ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anomalous Behavior ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Bridge Health Monitoring ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Many ◽  
Major Factors

Bridge health monitoring is increasingly relevant for the maintenance of existing structures or new structures with innovative concepts that require validation of design predictions. In the United States there are more than 600,000 highway bridges. Nearly half of them (46.4%) are rated as fair while about 1 out of 13 (7.6%) is rated in poor condition. As such, the United States is one of those countries in which bridge health monitoring systems are installed in order to complement conventional periodic nondestructive inspections. This paper reviews the challenges associated with bridge health monitoring related to the detection of specific bridge characteristics that may be indicators of anomalous behavior. The methods used to detect loss of stiffness, time-dependent and temperature-dependent deformations, fatigue, corrosion, and scour are discussed. Owing to the extent of the existing scientific literature, this review focuses on systems installed in U.S. bridges over the last 20 years. These are all major factors that contribute to long-term degradation of bridges. Issues related to wireless sensor drifts are discussed as well. The scope of the paper is to help newcomers, practitioners, and researchers at navigating the many methodologies that have been proposed and developed in order to identify damage using data collected from sensors installed in real structures.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Investigation of Above-Ground Pool Submersion Accidents

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ziernicki ◽  
William H. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Swimming Pool ◽  
Consumer Product Safety Commission ◽  
Adult Supervision ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
Product Defect ◽  
Engineering Investigation ◽  
Alternative Designs

In the United States, approximately 35 children under the age of five years old drown each year after access-ing above-ground pools via pool ladders. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data also shows that approximately 486 additional children sustain submersion-related injuries after accessing above-ground pools via pool ladders. In many cases, these events occurred during brief lapses of adult supervision. This paper fo-cuses on potential product defect issues related to child submersion accidents, including the role of user manuals, alternative designs, warnings, instructions, and child behavior testing. The authors examine the issues related to the investigation of above-ground swimming pool submersion accidents. In addition, procedures and steps are outlined that may be useful in analyzing whether the swimming pool is defective and unreasonably dangerous.

Status of forensic engineering education in the United States

2009 ◽  
pp. 575-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth L. Carper ◽  
Norbert J. Delatte ◽  
Paul A. Bosela
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Forensic Engineering

Participation triggers

2020 ◽  
pp. 63-86
Author(s):  
Katrin Križ
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Study Participants

This chapter assesses the case conditions that lead a child protection caseworker to take children's statements, opinions, and wishes seriously. The study participants from both Norway and the United States talked about situations involving collaboration between children and workers and child-led participation when they described the case scenarios where children's opinions counted. There were several common themes. Children's age mattered to the extent to which workers took their opinion seriously: most study participants described case examples that involved pre-teens and teens. Case context also mattered: more than one third of the participants described situations that involved a child who wanted to be removed from their home, and the workers then ended up supporting the child's wish. In many of these cases, the child's expression of their experience or opinion was one piece of the evidence that workers were considering in the case.

Strangulation: A Full Spectrum of Blunt Neck Trauma

1985 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 542-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren S. Line ◽  
Robert B. Stanley ◽  
Joseph H. Choi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Hyoid Bone ◽  
Expert Witness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Airway Compromise ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
Neck Trauma ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Blunt Neck Trauma

Strangulation accounts for up to 10% of violent or criminally related deaths in the United States annually. Strangulation techniques include hanging, throttling, garrotting, and chokeholds. These methods are thought to cause unconsciousness or death by compression of either the airway or the major vessels of the neck. A review of the records of 112 nonsurvivors and 59 survivors of strangulation revealed that hyoid bone and laryngotracheal fractures occurred in both groups, particularly in throttling victims. The laryngeal injuries themselves could not be implicated as the cause of death, and survivors usually presented without airway compromise. However, failure to appreciate such injuries in survivors may lead to permanent voice complications. A full understanding of the spectrum of strangulation is also required if the otolaryngologist is called to testify as an expert witness in such cases.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Investigations Of Guards Handrails And Stairs

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Air Travel ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Fundamental Issue ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
Gap Height ◽  
Riser Height

There Are More Accidental Deaths From Falls In The United States Than From Fire, Drowning, And Air Travel Combined. The Following Summarizes Forensic Engineering Investigations (In Several Of The United States) Of Guards, Handrails, And Stairs, Most Following Falls Resulting In Injury Or Death. The Fundamental Issue Is Whether The Guards, Handrails, And Stairs Complied With The Applicable Building Code. Liability, Advocacy, And Unsafe Structure Requirements Are Discussed. Many Example Cases Are Cited Involving Code Noncompliance Including: Guards: Omission, Strength, Gap, Height, And Ladder Effect; Handrails: Omission, Height, Grip, Length, Strength, Return, And Continuity; Stairs: Omission, Obstruction, Strength, Riser Height, Tread Length, Uniformity, Tread Slope, Riser Gap, And Lighting. Case Outcomes Are Discussed And Recommendations Made.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Practice In New Zealand

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
The United States ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Court System ◽  
View Point ◽  
Insurance Plan ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
The Right

It is interesting to read of the controversy arising from the Quayle Report in the United States, and the proposals to limit or restrict the activities of expert witnesses and particularly forensic engineers. This move appears to mirror moves in the New Zealand court system, although these moves are being approached from a completely different view point and arise from a completely different legal environment. Forensic engineering h New Zealand is a much smaller field than in the United States. For many years New Zealand has restricted the right of individuals to sue for matters born accident and injury, and has instead operated a central, tax-funded, no-fault insurance plan. The structure of the Plan is currently under review, but it is likely that the right to sue will still be restricted.

scholarly journals eHealth advances in support of people with complex care needs: Case examples from Canada, Scotland and the United States.

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Steele Gray ◽  
Stewart Mercer ◽  
Ted Palen ◽  
Brian McKinstry ◽  
Anne Hendry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Complex Care ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Complex Care Needs
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