Product Liability / Defects Consultants: 40

Leonard J. Backer has over 28 years of extensive and successful Furniture Industry experience in all key areas including:

Sourcing Private Label Production Product Development Original Design Marketing Branding Import and Distribution

Vendor Qualification Supplier Relations Contract Negotiations Customer Service Competitive Analysis Sales Agreements Designer Driven Approach

Mr. Backer has executive level perspective in start-up, turnaround and aggressive growth situations with long term industry relations, both domestically and overseas. He specializes in Private Label Manufacturing, Sourcing, and Product Development expertise.

Leonard Backer has provided extensive consulting work on short and long term projects. He has provided consulting work on various topics over the past few years for private equity companies, large branded manufacturers, and independent product designers. Mr. Backer has conducted site visits to 80 overseas and domestic factory operations. Worked closely with independent product designers.

View Leonard Backer's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Mayer is an independent consultant and scholar that (for identification only) holds the position of Visiting Fellow in Human Flourishing,  Harvard University. He has been a full-time tenured professor with recent appoints in statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, biomedical informatics, public health and medicine (psychiatry). He held various titles including, Professor (Part-time), Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Affiliated Professor, Mayo Clinic/ASU joint program in Biomedical Informatics, a member of the Research Staff at Mayo Clinic, and Professor at Arizona State University. 

Dr. Mayer continues to do research and mentor young physicians and medical students while doing a limited amount of consulting in epidemiology, biostatistics, statistics, observation studies and clinical trials. His consulting projects often focus on model development, execution and inferences. He is one of the few MD/PhD epidemiologists. He led a  group of 6000 physicians and epidemiologists that reviewed the science of COVID-19 

The four PhD and registered PEs at Miller Engineering are celebrating 40 years of Professorships at three universities along with providing services to Government, Insurance, and Industry—through research, publications, presentations, and expert testimony. We have a dedicated office with a full time staff of engineers, researchers, and technical writers. The span of our collective academic and experiential expertise covers well the Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Agricultural, Industrial, Human Factors, Ergonomic and Safety fields of engineering. The areas listed below are from actual projects completed in our 40 years of history. 

Vehicles Car/Truck Accident Reconstruction Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) Visibility & Reaction Time Analysis Tires, Trailers, Brakes & Accelerators Truck/Off Road Vehicle Egress/Ingress Traffic Signing and Construction Zones Electronic Vehicles Mechanical & Electrical Safety Product Safety & Analysis Machinery - Metal, Wood, Plastic Molding Machine Guarding & Safety, Robots, Automation Hazard and Risk Analysis Employee Safety Procedures – OSHA Electrical Distribution & Transmission Hazards

Warnings & Instructions Warning Labels & User Manual Design Hazard Analysis & Product Label Designs Medical Device & Drug Warnings & Instructions Inadequate Warnings Analysis Standard Compliance (ANSI Z535) Product Recall Information & Strategies Consumers/Household Safety Appliances & Tools Child Furniture, Choking, Playgrounds Swimming Pools & Exercise Equipment Recreation - ATV, Boats, Bicycles, Boards Ladder, Stair, Step and Railing Accidents Slip, Trip, & Fall Accidents CPSC Recall Information & Strategies

Chemicals Safety & Labeling NEW OSHA HAZCOM (2012) & GHS Review MSDS, SDS and Product Label Compliance Toxic Torts - Diacetyl, Asbestos, Benzene, Lead, Carbon Monoxide Vaping & E-Cigarette Health Effects Chemical Exposures & Workplace Safety Chemical Inhalation, Ingestion, Dermal Contact Contamination - Water & Environmental Manufacturing & Process Line Accidents Slips, Trips, Falls, & Entanglements Fires & Explosions Cause & Origin Investigations Gas, Vapor, & Electrical Spontaneous Combustion Vaping & E-cigarette Battery Failures Fire Control & Explosion Issues

Agriculture Tractor & Equipment Accidents Chemical Applications & Exposures Crop Storage & Harvesting Accidents Pesticides Construction Vehicle Visibility Accidents Slip, Trip, & Fall Accidents Power Tool Repetitive & Immediate Injuries Scaffolding - Cranes - Hoisting - Fork Lifts Insurance Subrogation & Forensics Accident Investigations Electrical & Fire Causation Chemical Leakage Damage Defective Equipment Injuries Premise and Process Damages

James M. Miller, PE, PhD – Founder  Dr. Miller is an Emeritus Engineering Professor at the University of Michigan. He has directly served in Washington originating several Federal OSHA safety regulations, and interacts regularly with CPSC regarding safety and product recalls. Dr. Miller often works on projects relating to compliance with occupational safety standards, provides upper management guidance on product design, recall and liability issues, and serves as an expert witness.

Mark R. Lehto, PhD – Co-Founder Dr. Lehto is a Professor of Engineering at Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Michigan, where he specialized in Human Factors Engineering, in particular Warnings and Labeling. Dr. Lehto specializes in knowledge engineering, warnings and instructions, structuring expert systems, accident modeling, accident statistical analysis, consumer product safety, boating safety, in-field national surveys of product usage, and product information effectiveness.

David R. Clark, PE, PhD – Co-Founder Dr. Clark is an Emeritus Engineering Professor at Kettering University. He was an engineering PhD graduate from the University of Michigan, where he specialized in human factors engineering and system safety analyses. He has a special expertise in electrical fire- and explosion-related accidents, and has extensive experience working for loss control companies, performing over 150 fire origin and cause investigations in the past few years.

Adam M. Olshove, PE, MSE – Engineering Manager Mr. Olshove has over 10 years of experience providing consulting services to industry and the legal profession. He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on control systems and battery modeling (2019), and a BS in Mechanical Engineering (2012), both from the University of Michigan. He has performed dozens of on-site investigations nationwide in relation to consumer product design and industrial accidents, including failure analysis and testing.

Jeffrey D. Rupp, MSE – Engineering Associate Mr. Rupp has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a MS in systems engineering and engineering management from Wayne State University. Among his company affiliates is 26 years with Ford Motor Company and Volvo Car Corporation, where he was involved in crash development and crash sensing calibrations.

Meyer R. Rosen FRSC, FAIC, CPC, CChE is a leading creative consultant for the Legal Profession and specialty Chemical / Personal Care Industries. He is the Founder and President of Interactive Consulting, Inc. (www.chemicalconsult.com). 

Meyer is a Forensic Litigation expert for both plaintiff and defense in hazardous chemicals, products liability, personal injury, fires and explosions, intellectual property and trade secret cases. He also provides Technical Marketing, New Business Development, Technical Consulting and Professional Editing services internationally to the Specialty Chemical, Personal Care, Cosmetic, Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Allied Industries. 

Meyer also has 15 years of experience as a Professor of Fire Technology at Westchester Community College. Mr. Rosen is Editor- in- Chief of Harry’s Cosmeticology, 9th Ed. A 2,600-page trilogy on all aspects of the cosmetic industry (www.harryscosmeticology.com) as well as being Emeritus-Editor-in-Chief for EuroCosmetics magazine (Germany) and Editor-in-Chief of the Delivery System Handbook.  

Technology Expertise (Intellectual Property/Chemical Industry): Mr. Rosen provides consultation and litigation support in patent infringement, trade secret issues, and licensing matters. His scientific areas of expertise include, but are not limited to:

• Organosilicones: Surfactants, Emulsions, Foams, Antifoams, Silane Coupling Agents
• Water Soluble Polymers, Poly(ethylene oxide), Polyethylene Glycol, and Poly (acrylamide) and Water Insoluble Polymers
• Colloid and Surface Chemistry: Stability of Dispersions, Wetting & Spreading Phenomena, Suspensions & Emulsions, Clays, Paint & Coatings, Personal Care, Cosmetics
• Flocculating and Coagulating Agents
• Applied Rheology, Rheology Modification of Aqueous & Non-Aqueous Media

Certifications:

• Chartered Chemist and Fellow: Royal Society of Chemistry – London
• Nationally Certified Professional Chemist and Professional Chemical Engineer
• Fire and Explosion Expert (Advanced Training)
• Fellow: American College of Forensic Examiners
• Fellow: American Institute of Chemists
• Diplomate: American Board of Forensic Examiners
• Diplomate: American Board of Forensic Engineering and Technology

View Meyer Rosen's Expert Witness Profile.

Harvey C. Voris is a Product Design Engineer with 35 years of proven experience in the Fitness Industry. Mr. Voris has designed and worked on approximately 200 fitness products and has been issued 7 U.S. utility patents. 

Consulting Services Include:

• Standards compliance evaluations of products, facilities and providers
• Design, analysis, and sourcing services for product concept through manufacturing
• Manual, warning, and documentation drafting
• Testing protocol design, testing apparatus design, and industry standard compliance verification

Mr. Voris has a Bachelors of Science in Engineering from UCLA with a specialization in Bio Structural Mechanics. His Masters in Engineering is from Cal State Long Beach where he specialized in Fatigue and Failure Analysis. Mr. Voris has spent 21 years devoted to the development and promotion of safety standards for the fitness industry. He has authored numerous standards and has chaired the ASTM committee devoted to fitness standards development since 1995. Mr. Voris has also delivered seminars on Fitness Safety Standards and Product Design topics both nationally and internationally. www.experts.com

View Harvey Voris' Expert Witness Profile.

Roger W. Griffith, PE, has over 37 years of professional experience as a Mechanical Engineer in the design, maintenance, and operation of mechanical systems. He specializes in the areas of Plumbing, HVAC, and Fire Sprinkler Systems Design.

Background - As the principal of Griffith Engineering & Consulting for 23 years, his design experience with commercial and industrial projects include convention centers, schools, office buildings, condominiums, apartment buildings, hotels, churches, manufacturing facilities, medical buildings, restaurants, historic buildings, dormitories, fire halls, and maintenance facilities. Prior to that, Mr. Griffith worked at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a mechanical engineer for 14 years. 

His roles at TVA included nuclear piping analyst, valve and heat exchanger specialist, maintenance engineer, and later maintenance supervisor at a fossil plant, and quality manager. His engineering roles included failure analysis of plant equipment. He also taught many courses on the subject of problem-solving and failure analysis for company employees.

Consulting Services:

HVAC Design Plumbing Design Hot Water Systems Design

Legionella Outbreaks HVAC Design Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Sprinkler System Design

View Roger W. Griffith's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Kevin A. Rider, PhD, PE, CPE of Forensic Human Factors, LLC., providing investigations and expert testimony regarding predictable human behavior, particularly as it relates to motor vehicle and pedestrian collisions, premises liability, and slips, trips and falls, the design and use of products, and adequacy of warnings/instructions. His work focuses on identifying the Human Factors Elements that lead to unfortunate incidents, and what should have been done to prevent them. 

Dr. Rider is a Licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Professional Ergonomist, and has studied human movements and behavior, and served as a human factors consultant since 1999, including five years teaching industrial engineering and occupational safety courses at West Virginia University. He has presented at professional conferences, both nationally and abroad, and his research is published and cited in a number of peer-reviewed journals. He continues to serve as a reviewer for conference and journal manuscripts. 

Dr. Rider has testified over 100 times, and excels at educating attorneys and jurors. His services are available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Driver Behavior - Cell Phone Use and other In-Vehicle Distractions
• Product Liability - Design, Guards, Warnings, Adequacy of Instructions
• Premises Liability - Sidewalks, Shopping Centers, Community Parks, Retail Displays
• Slips, Trips, and Falls
• Visibility and Lighting - Illumination and Conspicuity of Objects
• Workplace Safety - Defective Products, Gross Negligence or Misconduct, Third Party Actions on Worksites
• Machine Guarding 

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Finity Engineering, LLC comprises highly-accomplished engineers and industrial practitioners that work alongside leading researchers to provide design, analysis, consulting, and litigation support services. Associates are subject-matter experts in the areas of Automation, Mechatronics, Robotics, and Consumer Products.

Finity Engineering professionals have served scores of industry-leading companies and research institutes, and have developed and provided technical oversight for the implementation of hundreds of robotic, automation, and controls systems deployed within the facilities of high-profile end users. Collectively, Finity Engineering professionals are named inventors on over 60 patents and have founded dozens of successful entrepreneurial ventures, demonstrating pragmatic and marketable engineering innovation.

Clients Include: Alcoa, Apple, BMW, Boeing, Cargill, Caterpillar, Chernobyl, Cummins, Ford Motors, Fukushima, General Motors, Gestamp, Google, Honda, Hundai, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Controls, Kia Motors, Lockheed Martin, and many more.

Design, Analysis & Business Consulting Specialties:

Additive Manufacturing Aerospace Engineering Biomedical Engineering Consumer Product Design Control Systems Cranes Design Methodology Dynamics Electrical Engineering Failure Analysis Fluid Power / Hydraulics Haptics Hazard Analysis Image Processing Industrial Control Systems Industrial Design

Machine Design Machine Learning Machine Vision Manufacturing Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Motion Control Optics Photogrammetry Product Design Rapid Prototyping Robotics Signal Processing Traction Control & Wheel Slip Vibrations Warnings

 Founder, Khalid Sorensen, PhD, is a highly accomplished technology leader in Automation, Mechatronics, Motion Control, Manufacturing, Machine Vision, and Human-Machine Interaction. He has over 20 years of experience developing and deploying world class, mechatronic, motion control, and automation solutions.

Dr. Sorensen has directed the development and implementation of 100s of complex, multi-disciplinary mechatronic systems for high-profile industry leaders including Toyota, Ford, Alcoa, Caterpillar, Boeing, NuScale, and many others, and high-profile facilities including Fukushima and Chernobyl.

Previously, Dr. Sorensen Founded a technology company where he invented and was the Chief Architect of Expertoperator^TM, Safemove^TM, Automove^TM, and Cranevision^TM – technology known within the primary metals, automotive, and heavy-equipment sectors for enhancing crane safety, productivity, and ease-of-use; Developed state-of-the-art, on-line, time-optimal trajectory synthesis software for Cartesian machines - key drivers in the acquisition of his company 5 years after inception by a global leader in automation.

View Dr. Khalid Sorensen's Expert Witness Profile.

Eugene R. Camerota is a Professional Consulting Engineer. His consulting experience includes the analytical and experimental studies of Engineering problems dealing with Accident Reconstruction and Product Liability. His work includes the following specialties:

Automotive / Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction

Crash Data Retrieval

Seat Belt Restraint Analysis

Automotive Component Design Evaluation

Construction Equipment

Industrial / Portable Machinery

Consumer Product Evaluation

OSHA

Slip and Fall

Envista Forensics is a global leader in Forensic Engineering & Recovery Solutions. They provide Cause & Origin, Failure Analysis, Fire and Explosion Investigations, Accident Reconstruction, Damage Evaluations and Equipment Restoration Services following disasters of all kinds. Envista has offered Consulting Services to the insurance, legal and risk management industries, as well as businesses, public entities, and universities for over 25 years. Their Experts travel globally from 30 offices located across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Australia and Singapore.

Insurance Industry / Claims Professionals - Envista understands the need to save money and expedite the claim, to serve the insured and reduce uncertainty. They offer a menu of services that address insurers’ needs for timely, reliable information, as well as their need to satisfy the policyholders. Envista's insurance clients include Property Adjusters, Casualty and Liability Adjusters and Examiners, Boiler & Machinery Specialists, Inland and Ocean Marine Surveyors, Subrogation and Recovery Professionals, SIU (Special Investigation Units), Forensic Accountants, and Lloyd's & London Market.

Businesses - Envista understands that buildings, equipment, data and other assets are critical to the profitable operation of any business. They are proud to offer a variety of services that help businesses protect themselves when they need it most. Envista offers specialized expertise with all types of business, especially Manufacturers, Technology Companies, Food Processing, Hospitals, Medical / Dental Care, Laboratories, R&D (Research & Design), Schools and Universities, Law, Accounting, and other Professional Service Firms, Banking, Securities, Financial, Energy, Transportation, Retail, and Broadcast and Entertainment.

Universities & Public Entities - Risk Managers and Business Officers responsible for the operations of colleges, universities, local government and other entities have the challenging role of working to prevent financial exposure following disasters involving business-critical equipment, buildings/structures, data/networks, as well as safety. Envista engineers and technicians have over a quarter century’s worth of experience providing forensic consulting for college risk professionals, as well as the insurance carriers and legal professionals who serve them.

Consulting Services:

• Equipment Damage Assessments
• Forensic Engineering / Causation Analysis
• Building & Structure Damage Assessments
• Equipment Restoration & Preservation
• Evaluation of Repair and Replacement
• Project Management of Repair and Recovery Efforts Options
• Data Recovery
• Computer Forensics
• Forensic Video Services
• Cyber Incident Analysis

View Envista's Expert Witness Profile.

• Over 35 years of experience in Mechanical / Structural Engineering & Design, Failure Analysis, Product Liability, Industural Asbestos,Pressure Vessel & Boiler analysis and evaluation of mechanical and structural components.
• Extensive trial experience. Has been involved in multi-million dollar cases. Areas involved included:

  
  

  - Piping & pipe supports - Structural failure of products - Failure analysis - Industrial asbestos - Seismic analysis - Fire protection - Pressure vessels

  - Tanks - Construction - Heat transfer analysis - Environmental qualification of equipment - Welding - Product design - Patent information

• Expertise in developing litigation rate-case exhibits and detailed supporting testimony, and in organizing case documentation into easy-to-use computer databases for trial use.

Engel Metallurgical LTD engineers and metallurgists offer laboratory testing services to determine material performance and material performance expectation. All tests are performed according to government and/or applicable industrial standards, including ASTM, military, and other specifications. Engel Metallurgical clients include attorneys, insurance company representatives and members of a broad range of industries, including chemical, agricultural, aviation, power generation, construction, transportation and manufacturing. Consulting Services:

Metallurgical Engineering Engineering Services Lab Services Materials Analysis Product & Process

Failure Analysis Turbines Generators Boilers Quality Control

Principal, Lester P. Engel, Jr., PE, is a Metallurgical Engineer with over 40 years of experience leading the company's detailed, quality-focused testing and services. He oversees the company's lab, continually adding new equipment and techniques.

Mr. Engel also has experience as the chief metallurgist for Brown Boveri Turbomachinery and as a metallurgical engineer for the Aircraft Engine Group of General Electric, where he focused on material selections for hot aircraft and marine gas turbine components. His GE career began in Nuclear Systems Programs, where his work included serving as the principal investigator on three NASA programs. Les Engel specializes in materials application, failure analysis, R & D program management, materials and process specifications, engineering standards and procedures, laboratory design and operation, data analysis and personnel, and budget management. He continues to personally perform failure analysis on aircraft and land turbines, generators, boilers, steel products, metals, cements, plastics, and other materials.

James A. Brusso, PhD, PE, has more than 20 years of experience in processing/properties of materials, materials characterization and behavior, materials specifications, mechanical testing, failure analysis, machining of materials, and laboratory design and operation. He is also Engel Metallurgical's Technical Manager and Quality Manager.

Dr. Brusso brings keen expertise to Engel Metallurgical and its clients, performing failure analysis; rendering expert opinions, giving depositions and testimony for litigation support; providing technical support for materials and process development and improvement; and developing and reviewing various product designs, materials, and process details.

Dr. Brusso has worked with Engel Metallurgical since 2000. Prior to that, he held several positions with The Timken Company in Ohio, where his responsibilities included establishing the company’s machinability testing laboratory, team leader for product development projects, managing the company's application metallurgical laboratory, and providing technical review of internal processing and testing standards to satisfy ISO 9000 / QS 9000 registration.

View Les Engel's Expert Witness Profile

Paul Eason is a Licensed Professional Engineer, Nationally Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator and Forensic Consultant. His expertise comes from a strong background in industry and academia. In addition to his consulting practice, he is a professor in the School of Engineering at the University of North Florida, and maintains a graduate faculty appointment in the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Florida. 

Dr. Eason has testified in numerous trials and depositions in the following practice areas: 

Product Design & Manufacturing Analysis - Metallurgy & Materials - Fire & Explosions - Industrial Accidents 

Areas of Expertise: Product Liability and Materials Failure Analysis, Product Defect & Safety Issues including: Metals, Plastics, Glass, Ceramics, Corrosion, Fatigue, Overload & Material Selection 

Fire and Explosion Analysis including: cause and origin determination, product related fire causation, industrial process accidents, dust explosions, welding / brazing accidents

E & S Consulting, Inc., is a Florida registered professional engineering firm dedicated to bringing clients top-level consulting engineering services. E & S Consulting specializes in Product Liability litigation and expert testimony, however, they routinely perform Failure Analyses in non-litigation matters. They provide services to attorneys, insurance companies, state and local agencies, as well as manufacturing companies.

Services iNclude:

Metallography Hardness Testing Multi-channel Temperature Profiles Binocular Microscopy

Photographic Documentation Scanning Electron Microscopy X-Ray Diffraction Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy

President and Principal Investigator, Edward S. George PE, has over 30 years of experience in the field of Product Liability and Failure Analysis.

Mr. George earned his BS and MS degrees from the University of Florida Department of Materials Science and Engineering, graduating with a specialty in metallurgy. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Florida. Mr. George is a member of The National Society of Professional Engineers, The American Welding Society, The National Association of Forensic Engineers, The Florida Engineering Society, American Water Works Association, and The International Society for Fall Protection.

Mr. George has experience in a variety of material failures including:

Metals - Polymers - Plastics - Composites - Ceramics - Glass - Porcelain
View Edward George's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Box Consulting, Inc. is one of the highest respected consulting firms dedicated to the Packaging industry. Since 2010, it has become a globally renowned source for packaging process improvement, purchasing, manufacturing, distributing, shipment, and packaging environments. Dr. Box Consulting Inc.'s clients include Fortune 1000 corporations around the world and the Governments of the United States, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Country of Georgia.  

Business Consulting Services:

Packaging and Business Improvement - Waste reduction, quality improvement, safety improvement, profit improvement, lean manufacturing, machine productivity improvement, overtime reduction, on-time-delivery improvement and many other business improvement areas. A global leader in Packaging Procurement results.

Packaging Design and Branding - Assess packaging lines, improve efficiency, reduce material cost, design cost-effective packaging utilizing better and more flexible designs to protect and display products.

Branding - Design packaging, proper color choice, placement and designs of logos, names of products, placement of wording on the product and packaging for cosmetics, food products, household goods and many others. 

Packaging Research - Market assessments to determine the viability of building new plants in specific areas, including economic analysis, trend analysis, assessment of potential competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, market pricing analysis, and determination of potential customers.

Randy Phares, President and CEO of Dr. Box Consulting, Inc., is a Packaging expert specializing in Corrugated and Folding Carton Packaging. He has over 30 years of progressive leadership experience in Packaging, Procurement, Shipping, Lean Manufacturing, Quality, Safety, Productivity, and Business Improvement.

Since he began his career in 1990, Mr. Phares has held almost every job in packaging operations. These include manufacturing, distribution, sales, design, safety, and transportation.

Mr. Phares has served as a consultant for the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry's (TAPPI) Consulting Council. He was also the Vice Chair of the Packaging Consultants Council for the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP) and President of the South Texas Manufacturer’s Association. 

Mr. Phares has spoken and keynoted National, International and Local conferences. He has been hired to do DOT Packaging HAZMAT training for paper, rigid, and flexible packaging. Mr. Phares has done leadership training, Lean Manufacturing training, sales training, machinery training, new Supervisor training, safety training, and much more.

View Randy Phares' Expert Witness Profile.