This case involves a man who suffered injuries while operating a steer loader for a landscaping company. At this time of the incident in question, the Plaintiff was using the loader to move a large pile of mulch to another location on the landscaping company’s property. The loader was a used model that had been purchased from the Defendant, which was a third party equipment rental vendor. When the Plaintiff attempted to exit the loader while the engine was running, a critical safety feature failed, allowing the bucket arms to move down. This caused significant injuries to the Plaintiff’s arms. It is alleged that the switch was not functioning correctly when Plaintiff rented the equipment, and that his injuries could have been avoided if the safety mechanism was functioning properly.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Please describe your experience working with skid steer loaders.
2. Do you have experience working on similar cases?
3. Please describe why you are qualified to serve as an expert on this case.
Expert Witness Response E-008230
A joint inspection of the arm rest switch, attended by the manufacturer of the machine, rental company, and perhaps even the manufacturer of the switch should be held. If destructive testing and/or examination is objected to, a non-destructive examination by X-ray is recommended. Another test would be to remove the subject switch from the machine, put in an exemplar, and determine if the skid steer loader will operate correctly with an exemplar (presumably operating correctly) switch in place. Perhaps there are other failures to be investigated. A history of operation should be obtained to determine if there were past failures. Inspection and repair records for the unit should be obtained. Standards for inspection, maintenance and operation (ANSI, etc.) must be obtained to compare the actions of various parties with the appropriate standards. Also, a tie-in with the standards and OSHA must be established to determine if these particular standards are accepted by incorporation into OSHA (as the aerial lift standards are, for example) I have worked with skid steers and forklifts in both standard and all-terrain configurations. I have done extensive work with other industrial equipment, notably aerial lifts (which have the same basic types of controls) and sit on three ANSI committees that establish standards for such equipment.
About the author
Joseph O'Neill
Joe has extensive experience in online journalism and technical writing across a range of legal topics, including personal injury, meidcal malpractice, mass torts, consumer litigation, commercial litigation, and more. Joe spent close to six years working at Expert Institute, finishing up his role here as Director of Marketing. He has considerable knowledge across an array of legal topics pertaining to expert witnesses. Currently, Joe servces as Owner and Demand Generation Consultant at LightSail Consulting.