The Role of the Engineer in Product Liability Litigation

1984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles A. Blixt
Keyword(s):  
Product Liability

The Plaintiff's Attorney

1978 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 669-669
Author(s):  
Harry M. Philo ◽  
Linda Miller Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Product Liability ◽  
Accident Prevention ◽  
Product Safety ◽  
Social Purpose ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trial Judges

The social purpose of product liability litigation is product safety and accident Prevention. The role of the Human Factors Expert in that context is to educate juries, trial judges and appellate judges, attorneys, and experts in product design. The role of the Human Factors Expert in this context also includes being educated by the attorney's hindsight and experience, the technical materials, and by due care standards rather than compromise standards.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering For Automobile Accident Reconstruction

1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Chi
Keyword(s):  
Product Liability ◽  
Accident Reconstruction ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Automobile Accident ◽  
Multidisciplinary Practice ◽  
Car Crash ◽  
Car Accidents ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
The One

Passenger car accidents alone rank among the top five causes of death for the general population and in particular constitute the leading cause of death for the one to twenty-four year old age group. Personal and product liability analysis requires an interdisciplinary research between pathologists and forensic engineers through mathematical modeling and laboratory tests. Similarly, in accident reconstruction a forensic engineer teamed in a multidisciplinary practice with pathologists and attorneys can produce a vivid scenario of the accident using a limited input obtained through diverse sources of information. In this article, various simulation programs relevant to accident investigation are briefly discussed. Dynamics of a simplified two-car crash is heuristically presented and finally the role of the experience forensic engineer and his collaborative effort with pathologists and attorneys in reconstructing a disputed accident are emphasized.

Using Litigation to Make Public Health Policy: Theoretical and Empirical Challenges in Assessing Product Liability, Tobacco, and Gun Litigation

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D. Lytton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Product Liability ◽  
Gun Violence ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Public ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
Liability Claims

In recent years, a number of prominent scholars have touted the use of litigation as an effective tool for making public health policy. For example, Stephen Teret and Michael Jacobs have asserted that product liability claims against car makers have played a significant role in reducing automobile-related injuries, Peter Jacobson and Kenneth Warner have argued that litigation against cigarette manufacturers has advanced the cause of tobacco control, and Phil Cook and Jens Ludwig have suggested that lawsuits against the firearms industry can reduce gun violence. Critics have attacked this use of litigation as doing more harm than good to public health and as a misuse of the courts. This debate involves two distinct controversies: one over whether the public health benefits of litigation outweigh its costs and the other over the proper role of courts within our system of government.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Investigation of Workplace Incidents Involving Machinery

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Ziernicki
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Product Liability ◽  
Product Safety ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Product Defect ◽  
Engineering Investigation

On many occasions, a forensic engineer faces numerous questions when investigating workplace incidents involving machinery, such as: Why did this incident happen? Was it the operator who caused the incident? Was the operator properly trained? Was the equipment properly maintained? Was the equipment defectively designed or manufactured? This paper focuses on potential product defect issues. How can one determine whether the product was defec-tive and unreasonably dangerous? The paper outlines issues related to the investigation of product liability cases, and discusses potential procedures and steps to be taken in order to establish whether the product is defective or unreasonably dangerous. The author explains the role of industrial regulations and standards from sources such as the Code of Fed-eral Regulations (CFR), Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and other entities in the process of as-sessing product safety. In addition, the role of the safety triad, technical and economic feasibility, and warnings/instructions in assessing product safety are examined. The author also discusses another useful approach to safety: implementation of Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Finally, two product cases are presented to illustrate the process of safety analysis and investigation.

The Pharmaceutical Industry

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart O. Schweitzer ◽  
Z. John Lu
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Product Liability ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Private And Public

Understanding the pharmaceutical industry is a complex mission, requiring a thorough understanding not only of the firms that produce drugs but also of the decision-making process involved in drug selection for patients, the role of insurance and other third-party payers, and the substantial role of government in monitoring and regulating many aspects of the marketplace for pharmaceuticals. This chapter provides an overview of the pharmaceutical industry, including the market structure, the stages of research and development (R&D) and the associated costs, the role of government regulation in R&D and approval, and the role of product liability in the research process. It notes the important distinction between basic research and applied research, and explains the roles of the private and public sectors in each. The chapter ends with a discussion of the development of pharmaceuticals for poor countries.

The role of consumer sympathy in product liability suits

1991 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Darden ◽  
James B. DeConinck ◽  
Barry J. Babin ◽  
Mitch Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Product Liability

Market Segmentation and Product Liability

1982 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Trombetta ◽  
Fred W. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Product Liability ◽  
Legal Concepts

This article deals with the overall relationship between product liability and market segmentation. The legal concepts of foreseeability and notice are related to market segmentation in the context of disadvantaged consumer segments. In addition, the role of marketing research in supporting or defending a liability allegation is discussed.

Forensic Engineering Applications in Crime Scene Reconstruction

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Knox
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Product Liability ◽  
Crime Scene ◽  
Scene Reconstruction ◽  
Engineering Science ◽  
Industrial Accidents ◽  
Crime Scene Reconstruction ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
Structural Failures

Forensic engineers have traditionally engaged in the analysis of such events as traffic accidents, fires, industrial accidents, structural failures and product liability claims. The application of engineering science and design principles to these types of cases has been well established and has proven valuable to the legal and professional communities. Despite this extensive background in forensic issues, engineers have been reluctant to apply their training and education to the reconstruction of criminal events. Anecdotal experience shows that the common response by engineers to the field of crime scene reconstruction is: “We don’t do that”. Indeed, Internet research reveals very few cases in which forensic engineers have delved into the reconstruction of shooting incidents, and virtually no cases in which engineers have engaged in that analysis of homicidal beatings, bloodstain patterns or other such criminal events. This paper will explore the role of the forensic engineer in the field of crime scene reconstruction both as practitioner and researcher and will show that there is a growing role for engineers to play in the reconstruction of criminal events. Example cases will be explored, and the application of engineering science to those cases will be demonstrated. This paper will also look at ways for forensic engineers to bridge the experience gap that has perhaps been at the center of their reluctance to become involved in crime scene reconstruction.

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