Failure Analysis Expert Witnesses

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What is a failure analysis expert witness?

Failure analysis expert witness candidates typically have engineering discipline degrees (i.e., mechanical engineering, biomechanics, materials engineering, metallurgical engineering, structural engineering, or electrical engineering), with extensive experience in forensic engineering, accident reconstruction, and/or with laboratory testing. The background of a failure analysis expert witness will vary greatly depending on the product and technology involved in the case.

What types of cases require a failure analysis expert witness?

Failure analysis expert witnesses may provide litigation support for cases involving structural failure, product failure, materials failure, and mechanical failure. Often experts in failure analysis can assess product performance, analyses of stress, and performance, Cases may be civil, criminal, or class-action and require not only expertise but the ability to communicate findings for ease of understanding.

Failure analysis expert witness case examples

Representing the plaintiff or defendant, when the need for a failure analysis expert witness arises, top litigation firms call on Cahn Litigation Services. Example matters that Cahn Litigation Services has searched for expert witnesses for include:

• mechanical failures,
• Level 3 non-destructive testing,
• electrical failure causation,
• conveyor belt mechanical testing
• medical device quality assurance,
• commercial HVAC mechanical failure in Florida,
• construction audits, and
• coatings.

What litigation support work might a failure analysis expert witness be expected to perform?

Litigation support by a failure analysis expert often revolves around product liability, personal injury, and accident investigations. Clients may also seek a professional engineer for pre-litigation consulting work. Expert witness services by a failure analysis expert could include product failure analyses, forensic investigations, reverse engineering, research and authoring expert reports, depositions, providing expert opinions, and/or trial testimony.

Cahn Litigation Services has the experience required to turn a search for a failure analysis expert witness around quickly, providing the right balance of expertise and testimony experience.

Related Disciplines

Failure Analysis Expert Witness - Representative Bios

Please Note: All Cahn Litigation expert witness searches are customized to attorneys' precise specifications and preferences. Attorneys are encouraged to discuss search parameters with a Cahn search specialist.

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The below expert witness bios represent a small fraction of those Failure Analysis experts known by Cahn Litigation Services. These bios are provided to give lawyers a sense of the Failure Analysis landscape.

• Expert Witness #227074

  This expert holds a PhD in Metallurgy and brings to the table many years of experience in the areas of materials engineering, failure analysis and engineering investigations. This expert’s doctoral research dealt with safely containing hazardous, explosive materials and this is also true for much of this expert’s industrial consulting work. This expert has direct experience with grey cast iron in terms of pipeline corrosion and prediction of fatigue life in cast iron vessels.

  This expert’s code related work has involved pressure vessel and pipeline codes. This work has involved assessing old cast iron pressure vessels for conformance to current codes. Below is a summary of example work experience:

  Cast iron experience:

  1.  Life estimate for buried pipe
  2. Water main failure in river crossing
  3. Stray current induced corrosion failure

  Metallurgical/Fatigue Life for gray cast iron:

  1. Remaining life prediction for very old dryers
  2. Fitness for service on old paper mill dryer drums
  3. Failure prediction in check valve bodies
  4. Failure of brake drums

  Code Experience:

  1.  Repair procedures for damaged batch digesters
  2. Life prediction for dryers and dryer drums
  3. Butane gas line explosion
  4. Steam piping analysis and failures
  5. Refrigeration line failures
  6. API/ASME 579 Fitness for Service experience

  Risk for Natural Gas Transport:

  This expert’s graduate course work and dissertation dealt with preventing explosions (liquid natural gas). Much of this expert’s professional experience has involved efforts to prevent explosions or determining why explosions occurred. This is a poorly understood problem and one that many companies are ignoring. This expert has directed NDT or inspection efforts in a number of different applications.

  
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• Expert Witness #135336

  This expert is the principal consultant and expert witness in a successful materials failure analysis consulting firm. This expert has a Ph.D. in Materials Science and is a former Senior Process Engineer at a technology company. This expert has been analyzing glass failures and manufacturing techniques throughout this expert's career entire career. This expert has done specific failure analysis on glass bottles, windows, windshields, dishes, cookware, and other glass vessels, and has expertise in glass strengthening and tempering. This expert is a seasoned expert witness, with depositions and court appearances.

  
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• Expert Witness #214975

  This expert is the founder and CEO of a highly successful consultancy specializing in plastics. This expert has spent many years in the Plastics Industry as a leading authority on plastic and composite part failure. This expert worked for a plastics product manufacturer as a leading Principal Scientist. This expert is a world-renowned scientist and author as evidenced by many awards. This expert is a member of ASM International (a society of Material Scientists), the American Chemical Society Polymer Chemistry and Polymeric Materials Divisions, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, the National Association of Subrogation Professionals, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, the Failure Analysis Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers, the Institute of Packaging Professionals, and the Society of Automotive Engineers. This expert has provided expert services in over 150 litigations involving plastics and composites. This expert is one of the top plastic failure experts in the world having analyzed hundreds of plastic and composite parts including, pipes, food packages, bottles, tanks, latches, toys, medical devices, exercise equipment, automotive parts, pulleys, chairs, and stools. This expert has authored >100 scientific papers, >60 US Patents, a book, and several encyclopedia articles on chemicals and plastics.

  CONSULTANT AND EXPERT WITNESS ON CHEMICALS AND PLASTICS

  • Forensic analysis/testing of plastic and composite parts
  • Manufacturing processes for plastic bottles including extrusion blow-molding, injection blow-molding, and stretch
  • Blow-molding
  • Root cause analysis of CPVC fire suppression system failures
  • Exercise equipment failure
  • Plastic piping products including ABS, PVC, CPVC, PEX, PP, PVDC, and HDPE
  • Additives for plastics including antioxidants and UV stabilizers
  • Design of plastic parts to meet the requirements of the application
  • Fracture mechanics of plastic materials and composites
  • Chemical resistance/degradation of plastics and elastomers
  • Discoloration and loss of clarity of plastics
  • Plastic part and package design and stress analysis
  • Polymer blends and compounding
  • Polyolefin based resins and applications
  • Additives for improved adhesion in polymer blends and composites
  • Chemicals and Plastics R&D
  • Monomer stabilization and polymerization
  • Molding and extrusion of plastics including foams and films
  • UV, thermal, and environmental degradation of chemicals and plastics
  • Plastic flammability and plastic flame retardant formulations
  • Migration of chemicals and additives from plastics
  • Chemicals and plastics for medical use
  • Composite and nanocomposite materials including carbon fiber composites
  • Permeability (vapors and odors) of plastics
  • Plastics used in medical applications
  • Abrasion resistance of plastics and elastomers
  • Material Selection (choosing the right plastic for the application)
  
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• Expert Witness #252792

  This expert is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Mechanical Power Transmission design, test, manufacture, and failure analysis. This expert is Founder and Chief Engineer of a highly successful Mechanical Power Transmission consulting company. This expert leads a team of highly skilled and experienced Senior Engineers including metallurgists, gear and bearing and drive specialists. This expert also has a full-service forensic laboratory for gear system failure investigation.

  This expert and team have an extensive gear/bearing system background which spans both high and low speed, heavily loaded, extremely critical gear systems for a variety of applications ranging from helicopters to space craft and from mine to mill. This includes complete design, manufacturing and quality control support for geared systems of all types and sizes as well as gear/bearing system failure analyses and root cause determination.

  Prior to establishing a consultancy, this expert spent decades with an aircraft manufacturer's Helicopter Division and retired as Senior Technical Fellow - Gear Technology. This expert specialized in applied mathematics, kinematics, analytical gear system design and synthesis, finite element analysis, and computer programming. This expert was also responsible for the continued development and operation of the company's computer aided gear design systems as well as many related computer programs, including a complete Gear Finite Element Method Analysis System.

  This expert is an active participant in the American Helicopter Society (AHS), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA), and the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE).

  This expert has provided consulting services in field failure analysis and patent and trade secret litigation by detailing the State-of-the-Art in mechanical power transmission systems and interpreting technical information for the legal staff. This expert has also served as an expert witness in Federal Court.

  
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• Expert Witness #210598

  This expert, besides being a Full-Professor of mechanical engineering, has performed engineering analysis and provided expert witness testimony and consulting, including validity/invalidity arguments in patent infringement litigation, in the areas of Mechanical Design, Stress Analysis and Materials. The focus of this expert's graduate research was on vessels (read pipes) under high pressure and flanges (read couplings) to join the vessels. This expert has also been involved in cases involving various types of piping as well as the failure of clamps and couplings used for connecting piping under internal pressure. As a Professor of Mechanical Engineering with specialization in the areas of design, materials science, and failure analysis, this expert teaches concepts needed for design of couplings.

  
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• Expert Witness #260507

  This expert is recognized as an expert in chemistry, hazardous materials, metallurgical and plastics failure analysis and fire and explosion investigations. This expert is the founder and chief technologist for a nationally recognized fire science and forensic laboratory and specialized burn facility, equipped with among other apparatus, fabric flammability test cabinets, instruments used to characterize fabric density, warp/weave and composition (synthetic, cotton, blend, FR etc.), and a cone calorimeter which is a standard test method to characterize the fire performance of materials.

  This expert performs investigation according to recognized and professional standard practices and methodologies for engineering failure analysis and fire investigation with results supported by testing, analysis, codes, standards and literature. Familiar with existing test methods on soft furnishings as well as changes in regulations with respect to fire retardants and fire testing, this expert often performs instrumented, modified standard or ad hoc fire tests on these materials.

  This expert was the lead engineer that developed tests and criteria for assessing the burning rate hazard of solid chemical oxidizers based on research and testing at bench and intermediate scales that was accepted by the fire codes. This expert has training in Regulatory Fire Tests and is a principal member on a technical committee which addresses room fire hazards including fuel loads like furniture. This expert is also very familiar with other industry guides including the SFPE.

  This expert has training in hazard assessment methodologies, failure analysis and hazardous waste operations and emergency response. This expert serves on hazardous chemical, combustible metals and combustible dust technical committees as well as on technical panels overseeing research related to hazards associated with combustible dusts, antifreeze in home sprinkler systems and separation distances.

  This expert has been retained as a consulting and testifying expert by numerous law firms, insurance companies and corporations.

  
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• Expert Witness #253537

  This expert has extensive prior litigation experience that includes consumer product forensic engineering, written reports and a significant amount of deposition/courtroom testimony. During this expert's years of Forensic Engineering, this expert has investigated over a thousand losses many of which have involved refrigerators, refrigerator components, refrigeration equipment, and numerous refrigerator failures/failure modes. This expert has represented both plaintiffs and defendants, including manufacturers, sellers and service providers. This expert has also investigated losses and performed failure analysis for various companies/manufacturers directly.

  This expert brings to the table many years of industry experience in concept development and testing through commercialization and field support. As Chief Engineer for a beverage company, this expert was responsible for the design, development, testing, manufacturing, failure analysis, commercialization and field support for a new line of cold beverages from visual to high volume, soft serve, real ice cream, and a vending machine as well as existing equipment. This expert is highly familiar with refrigerator/freezers with multiple compartment temperature control.

  This expert has been awarded 23 US Patents with others pending.

  
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• Expert Witness #255698

  This expert is the President of a consulting company, and also serves as a Principal Engineer and Expert Witness. This expert recently testified in the non-electrical engineering side of an automotive seating matter. This expert has been consulting in failure analysis for many years, is a Fellow of ASM International, and remains actively involved in multiple ASM committees including Failure Analysis. This expert is well-published in the field. This expert performs engineering investigations considering design, manufacturing, materials, and operational factors. This expert has experience with both ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. This expert is a licensed Professional Engineer and has testified in both State and Federal Courts.  

  
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• Expert Witness #256699

  This expert has a Masters in Design and a PhD in engineering with course work that spanned product design, safety, industrial systems design, robotics, kinematics and mechanical engineering. This expert's expert witness experience includes intellectual property (patents, trade secrets and trade dress), product design, product liability and mechanical failure analysis, manufacturing system failure, safety analysis, and automotive and motorcycle system failures. This expert is a recognized artist, award winning producer, interior designer, author of a robotics text, journal and conference papers that include automation systems, alternative fuels and automotive engine design, a racing car engine researcher and designer, and the holder of six US patents that include alternative automotive fuels and furniture design. This expert is an Associate Professor in departments of industrial engineering and management systems and in a school of visual arts and design.

  
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• Expert Witness #262816

  This expert serves as Practice Lead and Senior Biomedical Consultant for a major consultancy. This expert joined this consultancy from a technology institute as a Professor of Biomedical Engineering. In addition, this expert worked as a Biomedical Consultant. This expert tested spinal products and other surgical implant devices for modes of failure and quality control.

  This expert is responsible for forensic testing and evaluation of incidents involving medical products and devices. This expert also focuses on the biomedical analysis of failure modes and its relationship to product failures.

  This expert earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, a Master of Science in Physics, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.

  
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• Expert Witness #244255

  This expert ‘s Ph.D. is in Materials Science, particularly metallurgy. Over the years, this expert’s particular focus has been in materials testing, destructive testing, and failure analysis. This expert is adept at using scanning electron microscopy analysis to perform defect analysis and production problem solving. This expert is an experienced expert witness and has testified at deposition and trial numerous times in matters of product liability, product defect and failure analysis

  
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