scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Analysis of a Swimming Pool Electric Shock Injury

Author(s):  
Robert Peruzzi

This case involves a minor who received an electric shock while swimming in a membership swimming pool. Her family sued the pool association, its president, the electric utility, and others. At some time, tree trimmers had accidentally severed the service drop’s neutral return wire. The electric utility made a temporary splice repair, but did not permanently replace the wire until several years later (after the incident). The forensic engineer (FE) was retained by counsel for the pool and its president to opine on electrical aspects of the plaintiff’s complaints. The FE inspected the pool premises, reviewed documents, and examined the spliced service wires in storage. The FE opined that the pool association and its president were not negligent or careless — and that the electric utility failed its responsibility to maintain the service drop. This report discusses three-phase electric power, current flow, and how a severed neutral can cause a shock.

Author(s):  
Jerry S. Ogden

The Forensic Engineering Analysis Of Bicycle-Vehicle Incidents Presents Its Own Unique Set Of Challenges. Often, The Forensic Engineer Is Faced With A Limited Data Set For Determining Vehicle Impact Speed From The Physical Evidence Produced By A Bicycle Collision With An Automobile, Which May Not Be Of Issue For A Vehicle-To-Vehicle Collision At Similar Speeds. This Paper Analyzes A Collision Between A Light Duty Pickup Pulling A Tandem Axle Utility Trailer And A Bicycle Ridden By A Minor Child. There Were Allegations That The Pickup Was Traveling At A High Speed Above The Speed Limit, As Well As Passing Another Vehicle At The Time Of The Incident. In Order To Accurately And Dependably Determine The Speed Of The Ford F350 Pickup Involved In This Incident Event, This Forensic Engineer Elected To Recreate The Vehicle Locked Wheel Skidding Evidence That Was Produced During The Incident Event And Photographically Recorded By Police Investigators. The Dynamic Skid Testing Technique, Test Equipment, And General Test Procedures Used To Accurately Determine Vehicle Speeds For This Incident Event, And How It Can Be Applied To Similar Collision Events Are Discussed In This Paper


Author(s):  
Richard D. Brugger

Many Electrical Wiring Systems Include Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (Gfci) As Protective Elements. The Application Is For Avoidance Of Electric Shock Injuries To A Person In The Event That Their Body Becomes Part Of An Electrical Circuit Path From A Live Wire And Ground. The Theory Behind The Device Is That If There Is A Difference In Electrical Current Flowing Through The Live (120 Volt Ac) Wire And The Neutral Wire, Then The Difference Current Is Flowing To Ground And Is Potentially Hazardous To A Person. Functionally, The Gfci Should Automatically Open The Electrical Circuit Above A Certain Ground Current Value. This Paper Explores How The Circuit May Fail To Provide The Protection For Which It Is Intended, And Result In An Electric Shock.


Author(s):  
David S. Komm

In 1998, A Baseball Traveled From A Minor-League Baseball Practice Area Into An Adjacent Parking Lot, Ultimately Striking A Six-Week Old Infant Being Placed Into A Car Seat. The Issue Of Appropriate Fence Heights Was Raised By The Infant Family. The Forensic Engineering Analysis Included Analysis Of The Baseball Flight Dynamics, The Application Of Statistical Analysis And The Design Of Sports Facilities. During Discovery, Prior Knowledge Of Similar Baseball Flight Paths Was Brought To Light, Presenting Challenges To The Defense.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019/2 ◽  
pp. 41-64
Author(s):  
S. C. ROWELL

CONCUBINE AND ENCHANTRESS: KATARZYNA TELNICZANKA AND HER BLACK MYTH Summary S.C. R O W E L L Katarzyna Hochstadt of Telnicz (ca 1480–1528), mistress of Sigismund the Old, mother of John of the Lithuanian Dukes, bishop of Vilnius (1519–36) and Poznań (1536–38) has come down in history as an enchanting beauty or a witch, or both. Her image is defined by her relationship with powerful men – her lover, her son, her husband (Andrzej Kościelecki, castellan of Wojnicz and sub–treasurer of the Crown of Poland) and alleged victims (various royal secretaries and high–ranking clerics). This article assesses what little by way of solid evidence is known of her life and how this can be related with the image of man–chasing vamp, interference in the running of the diocese of Vilnius (thereby allegedly provoking the appointment of bishop protectors to the see) and scandal in village and town (according to one seventeenth–century historian). There is evidence that while John of the Lithuanian Dukes was still a minor and enjoyed the rank of provost of Płock and Poznań and canon of Kraków the property associated with his office was overseen by his step–father and perhaps by his mother. After John became bishop of Vilnius, Her Magnificence the Bishop‘s Mother, the Lady Dowager Castellan of Wojnicz and Sub–Treasurer of the Crown of Poland resided for some time at her son‘s court in Vilnius and on at least two occasions exercised her maternal influence to facilitate access to the bishop for canons (Stanislaw Dambrowka, Martin of Dusniki and Albert Wielezinski) involved in a dispute with their brother canon and scholast Jakub Staszkowski. The detailed discussion of internal cathedral disputes in the presence of a lay person, and even worse, a woman, scandalised members of the Cathedral Chapter but there is no evidence that Lady Katarzyna sought to determine the outcome of this case. We also know that she patronised at least one noblewoman (the widowed sister–in–law of Bishop Albert Tabor) who subsequently adopted Bishop John as her son and heir and made financial endowments on both the bishop and his mother. After Katarzyna died in Vilnius in the late summer of 1528 her corpse was transported to Kraków for burial by a Vilnius canon, Erasmus Eustachii, whose family had connections with Andrzej Kościelecki and Bishop John of Vilnius. The satirical verse penned by Andrzej Krzycki concerning a mother–stepmother and father–stepfather (Katarzyna and King Sigismund) and „an old hag who stinks like a goat“ represents neo–Latin literary exercises provoked by fear of the influence at the royal court of Katarzyna and her family rather than an accurate and literal description of Katarzyna and her activities.


Author(s):  
D.S. Sax Saxena ◽  
Saxena Anu

The Influence Of Construction And Pile Driving Vibrations On Surrounding Buildings, Including Hospitals And Eye Examination Facilities, Sensitive Devices Such As Computers And Surgical Microscopes Or Electronic Machines, And People In The Urban Environment Is A Significant Consideration In Obtaining Project Approvals From Appropriate Agencies And Authorities. Implementation Of Construction Projects In Areas Adjacent To Existing Buildings (Aged, Historical, Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Medical Services, Or Electronic Services) Creates Additional Difficulties. Specialized Case History Is Presented Where Damage To Sensitive Structures From A Variety Of Vibratory Construction Methods Ranging From Pile Driving, Highway Construction, Rock Excavation And/Or Blasting, Was Considered. Twenty Homeowners From A Residential Subdivision In The Florida Panhandle, Claimed Damage Including Cracking To Their Properties During Construction Of Various Portions Of City Storm Water Treatment/Enhancement Project. It Was Also Alleged That During Excavation And Construction Of Drainage Structures, Especially Four Subsurface Treatment Vaults That Required Installation And Extraction Of Sheet Piles Using Vibratory Hammer, Stability Of The Nearby Residential Structures Was Endangered And Resulted In Movement/Cracking. Forensic Engineering Analysis Was Effectively Utilized To Identify, Investigate, And Remediate The Concerns As Well As Assist In Litigation And In Some Cases Avoidance. This Technical Paper Presents Some Legal Issues Related To Litigation, Mediation, And Resolution Involving Jurisprudence System And Introduces A Case History That Includes All Elements Of Forensic Engineering.


Author(s):  
Curtis E. Falany

Lightning Is A Powerful And Dangerous Natural Force. It Is Capable Of Inflicting Significant Damage To Our Environment And Causing Injury Or Death In Living Organisms. Electrical And Electronic Circuits Are Particularly Susceptible To Lightning, Both From Direct Strikes And From Lightning Induced Electrical Surges. Fires Often Result From Lightning Strikes. Injury And Death Can Result From Both Direct Strikes, Lightning Induced Electrical Surges, And Indirectly From Structure Damage And Fires. The Insurance In-Dustry Offers Coverage For Lighting Related Losses And A Forensic Engineer Is Often Consulted To Assist In Adjusting The Claim.


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