12/24/2018· Transportation
Safety Compromises, Part 12: Conclusions
By: Ned Einstein
The final installment of this series examines the socio-economic dynamics and choices which led to the increasing commission of safety compromises by America’s public transportation services.
4/18/2017· Documentation Examination & Analysis
Birth Certificate Altered to Smuggle Child Into the United States
By: Mike Wakshull
When she was a girl, the young woman had emigrated with her family to the United States from her home country in Africa. She grew up in the northeastern USA and was now attending college. As part of her application for United States citizenship she must present her birth certificate. Her father sent the birth certificate to her. The birth certificate had apparent alterations. Government officials refused to accept the birth as valid because her appearance did not match the age on the birth certificate. She was born in 1994 yet birth certificate appears to state her year of birth as 1984.
11/2/2015· Construction
By: Michael Panish
Mechanical fasteners, when properly used as recommended by the manufacturer, almost always assure safe and secure attachment of a fastened product. In commercial and residential applications, injuries resulting from mechanical attachment failures have often been attributed to inappropriate usage of products, improper installation procedures, or the failure of a poorly manufactured fastening product. When a product becomes disconnected from its point of attachment, serious personal injury can result.
2/21/2013· Fires & Explosions
Fires: Why the Cause May Not Be Electrical
By: Jeffrey Williams
Electrical appliances or wiring are often fire cause scapegoats, simply because they're there. It's unusual to find a burned structure without some electrical wire or device in or near the fire origin.
4/21/2015· Construction
Contractor Fraud: Beware of Unscrupulous Contractors
By: Michael Panish
Most of the misunderstandings pertaining to contractor and homeowner relationships occur as a result of unclear or wrongly interpreted construction contracts. Upon entering into a building contract, the enthusiasm for starting the proposed work often creates a kind of glazing over or dulling of the senses on the part of the homeowner. Many times questionable terms and arrangements for payment scheduling are accepted or unknowingly agreed to as the homeowner's urgent desire to start work overshadows common sense. Often, the lowest priced contractor seduces the homeowner with promises of more value for the money.
7/13/2012· Warnings & Labels
Product Warnings: The Wackiest Warnings of 2011
By: Gerald Goldhaber
The awards season is already in full gear this year. The Golden Globes have already been given out and the Oscars will be determined by the end of this month.
1/8/2013· Radiology
Planning Dosimetry Near Vascular Ports
By: Michael Gossman
New research shows the effects of electron beams on implanted vascular access ports composed of plastic, determining how they impair the fluence of radiation around them.
8/21/2013· Transportation
Overcoming Ambiguity with Exaggeration
By: Ned Einstein
As NBT readers of my past columns well know, my perspective on accidents and their causation is pretty skewed because I spend most of my professional time examining their details.
9/30/2014· Medical - Medicine
"Has the standard of care been violated?" is the basic question in all medical malpractice cases, the answer to which may be difficult to determine because the standard of care is often unwritten, can be ever changing, and is a blend of academic and private practice opinions. In addition to having a broad base of experience with both private practice and academic medicine the expert witness must be current with the medical literature, knowledgeable about solid tumors such as cancer of the breast, lung, colon, thyroid, tongue, larynx, head and neck, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, anus, skin, melanoma, liver, kidneys, bladder, pancreas, ovary, testicle, hepatoma, and sarcoma, as well as soft tissue malignancies such as non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma, the acute and chronic leukemia's, multiple myeloma, anemias, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and pancytopenia.
6/9/2017· Police Practices & Procedures
Responses to Psycho-Medical Emergencies
On a hot July day, fire and police are called to the home of a 55 year old man suffering from heat stroke. Police arrive first and find the man sitting on a bench in his front yard. When the officers approach the man and ask him to give them his cane, he becomes agitated and non-compliant. One officer suddenly grabs the cane away from the man, who screams and suddenly stands up. The man is tased, taken to the ground, beaten and handcuffed. He is transported to the hospital where ER physicians confirm a diagnosis of heat stroke. The man has no criminal history. He sustains numerous moderate injuries which keep him from returning to work for several weeks. The officers and agency are sued and settle out of court.
