Tag Archives: Engineering

Michael J. Slifka, Internationally Renowned Fire Protection Engineering Expert Witness and Consultant, Instrumental in Largest Civil Judgment in Wyoming History

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Middleton, WI (PRWEB) May 22, 2014

Experts.com is proud to welcome Michael J. Slifka, PE, to its esteemed cadre of fire protection engineering expert witnesses and consultants. A multi-faceted leader, Slifka’s focus is on fire research, fire code development, fire protection engineering, and health care facility design, maintenance, and operation. He is an expert in the fields of Fire Cause and Origin, Defective Construction Practices, and Wrongful Death and Injury cases.

Slifka has investigated hundreds of fires during his fire protection career and has been qualified as an expert witness in both deposition and at trial in U.S. Federal and State Courts. He was recently instrumental in winning two high-profile lawsuits concerning fire and life safety:

Slifka represented the defendants in a case involving a $ 4,000,000 generator building fire at the St. Louis Airport. His expertise was vital in finding the defendants not liable for any damages.
Working for the Plaintiff on a carbon monoxide poisoning case, Slifka’s testimony was crucial in the awarding of a $ 3,000,000 judgment plus a $ 25,500,000 punitive damages judgment, the largest civil judgment in Wyoming history.

Slifka formerly acted as Chief of Safety, Fire Protection, and Occupational Health for the Veterans Administration, the world’s largest health care organization responsible for, among other duties, the compliance of 172 hospitals and 225 outpatient clinics to JCAHO criteria. His experience consulting with hospitals regarding pre JCAHO physical plant safety assessments spans 30 years. An Expert on the Life Safety Code, Slifka was one of the developers of the Fire Safety Evaluation System (FSES) for Health Care facilities (now known as NFPA 101 A).

Slifka is a recognized and published authority on high rise fire risk and design. His major projects include Water Tower Place and McCormick Place 2 in Chicago, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, 3 Federal High Rise Office Buildings in CA, IL & GA. He is responsible for over 50 new and/or major renovations of VA and private sector hospitals located throughout the USA. He has served on the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS), the National Bureau of Standards, the National Fire Protection Association, and the U.S. General Services Administration.

MORE ABOUT MICHAEL SLIFKA

Visit website Michaelslifka.com

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Expert Witness Engineers- Expert Opinion Based on Sound Engineering Principles

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As defined by the dictionary, an expert witness is a person who has acquired specialization in a subject, often technical or other fields as well, who may present expert views without having been a witness to any incidence relating to the lawsuit or criminal case. It is an exception to the principle against giving an opinion in trial only if, the expert is purely trained by evidence of his/her proficiency, training and special knowledge.
 
In most of the legal cases, expert witness engineers are liable to give unified decision and are critical to the success of your case. Again, in many instances an expert professional can assist by-

Case study of technical facts

Preparing an expert case-specific engineering report supporting the legal issues

Being ousted

Witnessing at court

Civil engineers must utilize their education and experience to plan, intend and supervise the projects of construction site in various industries. Moreover, a civil engineer must examine, devise, plan and assist in the execution of every step of the project. He/she will verify that all official procedures are followed along with the necessary formalities. The responsibility of the project manager is to endorse that the particular design plans are followed. The design of the construction project is done with the incorporation of commonly established engineering standards and practices. A closing report may be prepared showing that how the project was actually built as compared to the plans. Moreover, an engineer can also authoritatively verify the safety measures are being followed throughout the project period. Indeed, the professionals play important role to any construction project but can also be very imperative to any legal representative that is in need of an expert witness.

When seeking for an expert witness engineers, you must seek the assistance of professional expert. In this regard, it is important to look at the experience of your expert witness, whether education or in the field. It is crucial to your case for the expert to have relevant experience. The judge or the opposing side may feel your expert is experienced and qualified or not and you should not waste your time for a non-qualified professional.  An apprentice civil engineer hasn’t acquired that level of proficiency and will probably not have handled many different project situations so far. Also, education alone is not a designation of a good expert. Experience on the job is an essential requirement for an expert witness.

PJ Wright & Associates | Hydraulic consultants Specializing in Expert witness engineers, Hydraulic Design Australia, Hydraulics Consultants Perth, Hydraulic Engineers, Western Australia.

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Non-Extreme Engineering Mobile Climbing Wall Injures Little Girl

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Newcastle, CA (PRWEB) June 02, 2012

The Miami Marlins have been busy filtering questions from a climbing wall accident that caused an 11-year-old girl to fall 18 feet to the ground. News stations across the nation have been reporting the horrific video footage showing a climbing wall drop a little girl to the concrete floor, resulting in a concussion and serious back trauma. It was confirmed that the climbing wall was not an Extreme Engineering climbing wall. Video footage, filmed from the little girls fathers camera phone, caught what seemed to be a cable failure on the belay device.

Jeff Wilson, president of Extreme Engineering and the patent holder of mobile climbing walls stated, Our thoughts are with the little girl and her family. I cant speak for the climbing wall company in question, but I can say that we are proud of Extreme Engineerings safety track record and the reliability of our engineered equipment. With over 17 years in manufacturing and designing climbing wall devices and other amusement equipment, we are proactive in maintaining safety, and educating our customers so they can continue to maintain their Extreme products with safety in mind.

The climbing wall incident has been reported on ABC News, Good Morning America and NBC. Jeff Davis, the father to the little girl (Emily) who fell from the climbing wall stated, I just wanted to know she was breathing. (Report from ABC News). The media has claimed that there was a harness failure but this is extremely rare and most likely not the probable cause. Based off the video footage it seems it was either a cable failure due to lack of maintenance or a mechanical failure in the auto-belay design. It is still hard to determine on the short video clip but Im certain it was not the harness, says Wilson. Extreme Engineering is providing assistance on the accident and available for an expert opinion on the failure. Although this is not an Extreme Engineering product, I am available to answer any questions on mobile climbing walls, auto-belay systems and how this could have been preventedmy goal is to continue to keep the industry safe, says Wilson.

Jeff Wilson serves as a committee member on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) ASTM F24 and also has served as an expert witness on various cases that focused on mechanical failures. Being the patent holder and inventor of the mobile climbing wall, auto-belay and other amusement devices, Wilson has become a resource in climbing wall safety and design. Extreme Engineering is also offering to review the climbing wall that caused the accident with a full report of what failed and caused the little girl to fall. It angers me when companies build inferior products that are not safe. There is a reason why products are engineered and designed a certain way. Not everyone can build a safe, reliable productI hate seeing the public get hurt especially if it could have been easily avoided, explains Wilson.

News reports state that the little girl suffered a concussion and serious bruising, but luckily no broken bones or internal organ damage. She is now talking and has started walking again.

With 4 best new product and 6 total industry awards in the entertainment industry, Extreme Engineering has proven to a premier provider in zip lines, climbing walls and other extreme, interactive products. Jeff Wilson is a mechanical engineer with over a dozen patents in the amusement, medical and aeronautical industry. For more information on climbing wall safety and design please feel free to email info@extremeengineering.com. The media is welcome to contact us. Please feel free to visit http://www.extremeengineering.com. We have full operating manuals, service bulletins and other safety related documents available online.