Forensic Engineering The Legal Framework For Product Liability

This book provides extensive coverage of all the engineering aspects of product liability from the design review stage to failure analysis to preparation for legal proceedings. It will greatly help you understand the engineering and scientific viewpoints of product failures as well as provide a technical framework for litigation.

This book shows how the process of designing safer products is a natural extension of traditional engineering aptitudes and procedures. Written by a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer who have extensive experience as educators, product designers and witnesses and advisors in product liability cases

Assists manufacturers and engineers in assessing the safety of their industrial, structural, and consumer products and in determining the cause of product failure, with an eye toward minimizing defects in future product designs. Also addresses the other parties that are involved in product safety and quality, including government agencies, legislators, insurance companies, attorneys, institutional consumers, and individual consumers. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A systems-level approach to reducing liability through process improvement Forensic Systems Analysis: Evaluating Operations by Discovery presents a systematic framework for uncovering and resolving problematic process failures. Carefully building the causal relationship from process to product, the discussion lays out in significant detail the appropriate and tactical approaches necessary to the pursuit of litigation with respect to corporate operations. Systemic process failures are addressed by flipping process improvement models to study both improvement and failure, resulting in arguments and methodologies relevant to any product or service industry. Guidance on risk analysis of operations combines evaluation of process control, stability, capability, verification, validation, specification, product reliability, serial dependence, and more, providing a robust framework with which to target large-scale nonconforming products and services. Relevant to anyone involved in business, manufacturing, service, and control, this book: Covers process liability and operations management from both engineering and legal perspectives Offers analyses that present novel uses of traditional engineering methods concerning risk and product quality and reliability Takes a rigorous approach to system tactics and constraints related to product and service operations and identifies dysfunctional processes Offers both prescriptive and descriptive solutions to both the plaintiff and the defendant The global economy has created an environment in which huge production volume, complex data bases, and multiple dispersed suppliers greatly challenge industrial operations. This informative guide provides a practical blueprint for uncovering problematic process failures.

This edition of Forensic Engineering updates the original work with new case studies and investigative techniques. Contributors to the book are the foremost authorities in each area of specialization. These specialty areas include fire investigation, industrial accidents, product liability, traffic accidents, civil engineering and transportation disasters, and environmental systems failures. Each chapter includes discussions of guidelines, techniques, methods, and tools employed in accident investigation and analysis. In addition, the book contains vital information on forensic photogrammetry, the planning and writing of reports, and the presentation of evidence as an expert witness in traditional litigation. The book also analyzes the role of the forensic engineer in the evolving methods of alternate dispute resolution. Overall, Forensic Engineering is a tremendously valuable reference for forensic experts practicing in all engineering fields, as well as design and construction professionals, attorneys, product manufacturers, and insurance professionals. It is also as an excellent supplemental text for engineering and law students.

Forensic Engineering: The Art and Craft of a Failure Detective synthesizes the current academic knowledge, with advances in process and techniques developed in the last several years, to bring forensic materials and engineering analysis into the 21st century. The techniques covered in the book are applied to the myriad types of cases the forensic engineer and investigator may face, serving as a working manual for practitioners. Analytical techniques and practical, applied engineering principles are illustrated in such cases as patent and intellectual property disputes, building and product failures, faulty design, air and rail disasters, automobile recalls, and civil and criminal cases. Both private and criminal cases are covered as well as the legal obligation, requirements, and responsibilities under the law, particularly in cases of serious injury or even death. Forensic Engineering will appeal to professionals working in failure analysis, loss adjustment, occupational health and safety as well as professionals working in a legal capacity in cases of produce failure and liability—including criminal cases, fraud investigation, and private consultants in engineering and forensic engineering.