determine whether industrial, commercial and construction equipment and consumer products involved in accidents were defective, in regard to safety, in:
Our reconstruction of accidents involving industrial equipment and consumer products determines whether such equipment caused or contributed to the accident. Work in this area also includes determining whether revision of the equipment or related equipment systems was feasible and required for safety.
● determine whether such equipment had adequate warnings
● determine whether such equipment conformed to appropriate:
- accepted engineering practices
- regulations, including state and federal regulations for safety
● equipment for use by the public, or for which the public has access:
- passenger and freight elevators
- material lifts used as elevators
● construction, mining and heavy maintenance equipment:
- excavators and similar mobile equipment, etc.
● commercial and light maintenance equipment:
- clothes washing, cleaning and pressing equipment
- food preparation equipment
● farm, landscaping and garden equipment:
- forklifts/towmotors, and similar mobile equipment
- industrial heating equipment
- blow-molders, for plastics processing
- calanders, for rubber processing
Madden
Accident
Analysis &
Forensic
Engineering
Consultation is available before starting a case. We invite you to
consult with us. There is no charge for an initial phone consultation.
Call us, or if you prefer we can schedule the consultation in advance.
Consultation with James D. Madden, PE, a Professional Engineer, and Forensic
Engineering Consulting and Testifying Expert Witness, is available to the client at all
times during the work - before, during, and after the investigation,
engineering analysis, reconstruction, report, and any other work on the case.
Download a Summary or Detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume' for James D. Madden, P.E.,
email us, and bookmark this website.
For mailing address, phone, fax and email address click a button below the Fee Schedule section.
Contact us by phone, fax, mail or email for a copy of the Fee Schedule for charges for engineering
and consulting services and testimony. Click a button below for contact information.
Over the last 30 years we have regularly worked on accidents which occurred in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York and nearby, including inspections of accident sites, equipment, and facilities, with reports and testimony. During these 30 years we have also worked on accidents which occurred in other states, and equipment and facilities located in other states, with inspections of accident sites, equipment, and facilities, from Utah and Kansas to Vermont and North Carolina, with reports and testimony for these accidents, when applicable.
Contact us to discuss your case by phone at NO CHARGE.
This consultation can be scheduled in advance to meet your schedule.
We analyze equipment that was involved in accidents for mechanical failure, safety design and the presence of required safety features, particularly safeguards, such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, safety instrumentation, etc., and warnings.
Examples of equipment which has been analyzed to date include:
● took extensive college coursework in engineering design of equipment
earned 2 Engineering degrees, Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering, and took additional post-degree coursework, with coursework in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering mechanics, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and normal psychology
designed and specified equipment, and equipment systems, including instrumentation and controls, warnings and safeguards, during 17 years working in industrial operations and design engineering
● over 40 years of engineering experience, with:
● 17 years experience in industrial operations, engineering design and construction assistance
● 30 years experience in forensic engineering, including:
● working on over 1000 cases
● issuing over 600 reports and over 60 affidavits
● testifying in over 90 depositions and over 75 trials
at the start of forensic work, completed refresher and additional post-degree college credit coursework and continuing education coursework in mechanical engineering, metallurgy and materials
● attended the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) seminar on product liability
● attended engineering seminars presented by the National Academy of Forensic Engineers
regularly attend additional technical courses and seminars each year to meet the requirements for continuing engineering education for the Professional Engineer's license
Our Engineering Analyses of Industrial and Commercial Equipment and mechanical Consumer Products cover mechanical failure, safety design and safety features, particularly safeguards (such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, fail-safe instrumentation, etc.) and warnings, with the intent to:
determine whether such equipment had appropriate safeguards, such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, safety instrumentation, etc.
● verbal reports, by telephone or in face-to-face conferences
We present the results of our investigations, engineering analyses and reconstructions in
the client's choice of any, or all, of the following:
Our work investigating, analyzing and reconstructing accidents, and presenting the results, may include any
or all of the following, depending on the needs of the case:
● written reports and affidavits
● deposition testimony, including video deposition
● trial testimony and arbitration testimony
James D. Madden, P.E., while performing Forensic Engineering work full-time for over
the last 30 years, for both plaintiff and defendant, has to date:
● completed over 1000 cases
● written and issued over 600 reports
● testified in over 90 depositions
● written and issued over 60 affidavits
● testified in over 75 trials
click on underlined words to use links - if no word is underlined try hovering the mouse over words to see underlines
earned the Professional Engineers license (P.E.) by taking the National Council of Engineering Examiners' (NCEE) examination in Fundamentals of Engineering and the Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering sections of the NCEE examination in Principles and Practices of Engineering
designated a Diplomate Forensic Engineer by the National Academy of Forensic Engineers in accordance with the standards of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB)
Our Engineering Analysis of Equipment and mechanical Consumer Products
Examples of Industrial, Commercial, and Construction Equipment We have Analyzed
• including mining & extraction equipment, and farm, lawn & garden equipment, etc.
<< click for a description of the typical activities and work performed
over 175 incidents involving consumer products and industrial and commercial equipment have been investigated and reconstructed as part of the forensic engineering work during the last 30 years
<< click for examples of many types of Equipment analyzed
Our Work with Equipment & Machinery includes investigation and reconstruction of accidents associated with this equipment, and investigation and engineering analysis of unsafe operation and/or failure of the involved equipment, when either occurs.
Our work includes assessment of the activities of the persons involved in the accident as these activities relate to the equipment involved. Engineering analysis of the design, construction, and assembly of the involved equipment is included in our work. In particular we assess and evaluate the conformance of the equipment to the requirements of Safety Design principles and the applicable Codes, Standards and Recommended Practices. We determine the requirements for the presence of safety features including Safeguards and Warnings, and determine whether the required safety features were in place and performing properly at the time of the subject accident.
Our work includes assessment of the operation of the involved equipment, particularly as it relates to safety and the accident events, both as a result of the accident events and as the cause of accident events, when either, or both, is the case.
Our engineering analyses of equipment cover mechanical failure, safety design and safety features. Safety features analyzed include safeguards, such as barrier guards, light curtains, dual operating buttons, fail-safe instrumentation, etc., and warnings. These analyses are for the purpose of determining the safety of this equipment, and if it is unsafe, the source of this defect. Our engineering analyses are discussed further in 'Our Engineering Analysis' below. Also see 'Typical Work' below for other activities typically involved in our work. Click on the red underlined words in this website to link to the sections named.
Our reconstruction of accidents involving industrial, commercial and construction equipment determines whether such equipment caused or contributed to the accident. Work in this area also includes determining whether revision of the equipment or related equipment systems was feasible and required for safety.
Our analysis of product and equipment accidents includes consideration of the human-mechanical interface in the accident, as understood through Human Factors and from extensive experience in the safety design of equipment and equipment systems, including control instrumentation. See 'Experience and Qualifications...' below for this experience and the other qualifications for work with Product and Equipment Accidents. Also see''Engineering Design' on another page for examples of equipment, equipment systems and facilities designed while a design engineer. Also see the closely related specialty 'Industrial and Commercial Operations and Construction Activities' on another page.
^^^ click on buttons to go to other pages covering these subjects ^^^
Commonalities in Equipment - are important in the forensic analysis of accidents and incidents and the analysis of the involvement of equipment in an accident. Different types of industrial, commercial and construction equipment, have the same or very similar requirements for mechanical integrity, stability, safety design, safety features and performance, control and safe operation, as they relate to safety.
Equipment items and the need for mechanical integrity, stability, performance and control, as they relate to safety, and safe operation, and safety features as related to an accident, are analyzed by us using generally accepted engineering and safety design principles, including the safety design hierarchy. These engineering principles have application to all equipment and all equipment accidents, and are used in the analysis of the requirements for, and the use and performance of, safety features in all equipment, including industrial, commercial and construction equipment, and even consumer products. The safety effects, if any, of the requirements of applicable Standards & Codes are considered in all equipment analyses.
Mechanical integrity is the ability of equipment to avoid failure under various conditions. Safety design covers techniques and features to provide fail-safe design (a design that will not allow the creation of a safety hazard as a result of a failure or mis-operation). Safety design also covers techniques and features to design out hazards for aspects of the equipment that impact safety. Safety features include safeguards (barrier guards, light curtains, fail-safe safety instrumentation, dual operating buttons, etc.) and warnings. Equipment features for mechanical integrity, and safety, and their use, when applicable, are similar or the same among various types of equipment, including mechanical consumer products. The requirements for mechanical integrity, and performance, control, operation and potential mis-operation, as they relate to safety, and specific safety features are determined primarily by the potential hazards, with operational considerations, not the type of equipment, whether industrial, commercial or construction equipment, or even consumer products.
● equipment installed with buildings and structures*:
- windows and window assemblies
- interior and exterior steps, stairs and ramps, and their handrails and guardrails
- passenger and freight elevators and lifts used as passenger elevators
- interior and exterior balconies
* also see the Premises page for more information about equipment installed with buildings and
structures (opens in a separate browser window)
● equipment involved in fires and explosions*:
about equipment involved in fires and explosions (they open in a separate browser windows)
- personal watercraft ("jet skis")
- incinerators in multi-story buildings
- trash chutes in multi-story buildings
- industrial furnaces and boilers
- industrial process heaters
- hydrogen tankers (over the road trailers)
- gas-fired residential furnaces and heat circulation systems
- wood-burning residential furnaces and heat circulation systems
● equipment involved incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning*:
monoxide poisonings (opens in a separate browser window)
Table of Contents - Equipment and related - links to content on this page
Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering, through its Senior Forensic Engineer, James D. Madden, P.E., a licensed professional engineer, has performed Accident Investigations, Engineering Analyses and Accident Reconstructions for accidents, incidents and cases in the metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Toledo, Warren, Youngstown, Mansfield, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Lima, Findlay, Marietta and Steubenville, as well elsewhere throughout Ohio, and the metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh and Erie, as well as elsewhere throughout western and central Pennsylvania, and the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Flint and Port Huron, as well as elsewhere in southern Michigan, and the metropolitan areas of Buffalo and Syracuse, as well as elsewhere in western and central New York state. In many of these areas James D. Madden, P.E. has provided expert reports and testified in the capacity of an Expert Witness in court proceedings, including depositions, arbitrations and/or trials.
Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering, through its Senior Forensic Engineer James D. Madden, P.E., is available for Accident Investigations, Engineering Analyses, Accident Reconstructions, and testimony in deposition, arbitration and trial, for cases located throughout North America.
Our Typical Work Activities and Products, when warranted by the case
Qualifications of James D. Madden, P.E., Senior Forensic Engineer
Downloads and Links - Curriculum Vitae, Email and Bookmark
Geographic Area of Practice - North America
Presentation of results of our work
Forensic Engineering Work by Senior Forensic Engineer James D. Madden, P.E.
Experience and Qualifications of James D. Madden, P.E. in regard to accidents involving
Equipment & Machinery and mechanical Consumer Products*
* these accidents are analyzed using the same engineering principles and experience
The qualifications of James D. Madden, P.E., Senior Forensic Engineer, Consulting and Testifying
See details of the forensic work throughout this website, and a summary on the Employment Page.
Use the Search Box at the left to search the whole website.
Use Control F, 'Ctrl' + 'F', to locate specific words on this page.
Bookmark this site by typing Control D ('Ctr' + 'D').
■ Curriculum Vitae, CV, Resume'
■ Contact Us by Phone, Mail or Email
■ Consult, before and after assignment
■ Fee Schedule Availability
click on the underlined squares and underlined words to link to the subjects
■ Our Forensic Engineering Work - number of ● Cases ● Reports ● Affidavits ● Testimonies
■ Experience & Qualifications in regard to Equipment and Equipment Systems
■ Engineering Analysis of Equipment and Systems
■ Commonalities in Equipment
■ Examples of Equipment Analyzed
■ Equipment listed by Type/Category
Also see Combustion Hazards for combustion equipment and systems causing fires and explosions or carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, on another page.
Equipment by Types/Categories - links to content on this page
The set of categories listed below are provided for the convenience of the user of this webpage in finding particular products and equipment, but are not the only way equipment can be categorized. Thus, if you are looking for a particular product or piece of equipment, you may find looking at the complete list of products and equipment or using Ctrl-F (Page Search) to be useful in this search. The products and equipment items listed on this webpage are examples of equipment and products analyzed. The listings on this webpage do not include all the equipment and products analyzed.
* including equipment installed in facilities
■ Construction and Mining
■ Commercial and Light Maintenance
■ Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning*
click on the underlined squares to link to the subjects
■ Our Typical Work Activities and Products
■ Presentation of The Results of Our Work
■ Other Experience & Qualifications
■ Geographic Area available for Work
■ Links to Other Pages (left sidebars)
■ Farm, Landscaping & Gardening
■ Buildings and Structure
See the Consumer Products page for mechanical consumer products for equipment that might also be encountered in Industry, Commercial facilities, and Maintenance and Construction use.
Links on pages of This Website include:
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● inspection of the accident site, such as a roadway, outdoor facilities, building or industrial facilities
● interviewing witnesses (often during the inspection of the accident site, product and/or equipment)
coordinating or interfacing with others while they are preparing specialized exhibits such as video animations and videos of demonstrations
review and study of case documents, evidence and applicable codes, standards, regulations and recommended practices
● written reports and affidavits, and exhibits
drawings, calculations, graphical analyses, computer analyses, etc. as required to analyze and reconstruct the accident, and to present the engineering analysis and reconstruction
● testing accident items and exemplar items (such as consumer products)
● photography and/or video of the accident site and involved equipment
● testimony in deposition, trial and arbitration
inspection of the involved equipment, in current condition, including in damaged condition (such as crashed vehicles); and when available for operation, during operation (such as industrial equipment)
Work on accidents involving equipment may include inspection of
Work on accidents involving equipment may also include
● equipment ● controls ● safeguards ● warnings ● other safety features
● reconstruction of the accident, including ● evaluation for equipment failure
● engineering analysis of the ● equipment design ● construction ● assembly,
● operator actions ● equipment performance ● safety feature performance
● analysis for adherence to ● applicable codes ● OSHA ● standard of care ● engineering analysis of the operation of equipment and facilities, including
particularly for ● adherence to safety design principles
Work on accidents involving equipment may also include
for more information,
click on subject listings below
Related Basic Specialties
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Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering
over 30 Years Investigating, Analyzing, Reconstructing & Testifying about Accidents
Forensic Engineering & Scientific Accident Reconstruction
Copyright 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 by Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering and James D. Madden, P.E., aka James Madden and Jim Madden.
All rights reserved. This website contains photographs which are licensed with restrictions that prohibit downloading, reproduction, re-publication or re-transmission.
Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering, through its Senior Forensic Engineer, James D. Madden, P.E., a licensed professional engineer, has performed Accident Investigations, Engineering Analyses and Accident Reconstructions routinely for accidents, incidents and cases located in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York, in the technical areas which are noted in this website, as well as providing expert reports and testifying in court proceedings in these states in the capacity of an Expert Witness, including depositions, arbitrations and/or trials, with Forensic Engineering work also performed in, and/or for cases in, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Vermont, Kansas and Utah, with testimony in court in Kansas.
Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering
1700 West Market Street, Suite 318, Akron, Ohio 44313, or
8803 Brecksville Road, Suite 7-216, Cleveland, Ohio 44141
phone: 440-838-1191 or 440-832-9540, fax: 440-838-1192
