FEATURED ARTICLES BY JOHN RYAN, BSME, PE

1/22/2014· Product Liability

Forensic Clues: How to Survive in a Hostile Tort Reform Market

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Product Liability Reform has affected many attorneys, consumers, and experts negatively while failing in its goal of greater American competitiveness. This issue of Forensic Clues is dedicated to addressing the problems of tort reform, how this affects you, and what you as an attorney can do to reduce your costs and increase your chances of a successful product liability case, assuming that the case involves a legitimate product defect.

12/13/2013· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction

Forensic Clues: Skiing and Snowboarding Accidents

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

A recent failure of a ski lift in Wisconsin has received much media attention. While accidents such as these are rare, they do occur. Much more frequent are accidents involving collisions with other people or objects. This issue of Forensic Clues will examine the types of accidents that occur on the mountains.

11/11/2013· Failure Analysis

Forensic Clues: Powered Winch Accidents

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Powered winches are in use in a variety of applications, some of the most common include vehicle-mounted electric winches, marine vessel winches, marine recovery winches, industrial winches and chain hoists. Accidents occur in all types of winch uses.

10/15/2013· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction

Forensic Clues: All-Terrain Vehicles

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Between 1982 and 1996, 2,795 people died riding all-terrain vehicles, ATV's. This was found in a study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Over thirty percent of the riders killed were under the age of sixteen.

9/26/2013· Failure Analysis

Forensic Clues: Seat Belt Failure

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

In 2007, an estimated 15,147 lives were saved from seat belt use. Seat belts save five times more lives than airbags, according to statistics released by NHTSA. Seat belt use has increased over the years, due to cultural trends, and possibly due to the enactment of seat belt use laws. Seat belt systems do not always function as predicted. Seat belt systems can fail during a collision, often resulting in serious injury or death to the vehicle occupant.

8/26/2013· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction

Forensic Clues: Tractor Accidents and Rollover Protective Structures

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Farming is a dangerous occupation. Tractor rollover accidents have been killing people since the 1920's. In 1990, the National Safety Council estimated 460 people were killed while operating tractors. Tractor rollover caused 239 of these fatalities. Another estimate suggests a more conservative number of annual fatalities - 132, that are the result of tractor rollover accidents. In a four-year period in Pennsylvania alone, 72 people died as a result of tractor rollover accidents.

8/9/2013· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction

Crash Data Retrieval - Modern Methods of Determining Crash Severity

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Automobile collisions result in damage to property and injuries to people. Compensation is sought through insurance claims, law suits, and product liability claims. Knowing when injuries are more or less severe than is warranted by the damage level involved in the collision is important information. This can help people involved on both sides of litigation or settlements.

7/23/2013· Warnings & Labels

Forensic Clues: Product Hazard Warnings

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Warning labels are an indelible part of our society. Warning labels are everywhere - on our food, on our drinks, on our sweeteners, on our cars, on our tools, on our cigarettes. As consumers we are constantly barraged with multitudes of warnings, cautions, don't do this's, don't do that's.

7/3/2013· Failure Analysis

Forensic Clues: Fiberglass Failure

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Safety Engineering Resources has had the opportunity to learn a great deal about using fiberglass in structural applications, which are simply applications that must support some sort of load. Using fiberglass as a structural material was brought about by the advances made by organic chemists in recent decades in the field of plastics.

6/14/2013· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction

Forensic Clues: Forklifts

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that approximately 95,000 injuries occur each year due to forklifts.