By: Dr. Irving Ojalvo
Tel: (800) 358-9909
Fax: (888) 358-9901
Email: Technology Associates
Places of business, residences, parking and recreational areas contain potential accident sources such as slippery floors and stairs, product displays, automatic doors, ledges, railings, elevators, escalators and other hazardous items. To prevent such items from causing injury to the public, premises owners and their agents have a responsibility to recognize unsafe conditions and exercise reasonable care to maintain or make conditions safe, or warn the public of the risks involved. One way this can be accomplished is by maintaining regularly scheduled inspections to check for unsafe conditions and correcting or warning against identified hazards before accidents occur.
We have extensive experience in many aspects of premises accidents including:
Through scientific analysis, we can help you answer pertinent questions such as:
Exterior Staircase Fall Down:
After exiting a public building, an elderly woman descended an outdoor, wide set of stairs. While doing so, she lost her balance, fell, and was seriously injured. Upon inspection, we determined that the rise height of the step where she fell was a half-inch higher than the previous steps. In addition, there was no handrail nearby. Both these items represented significant hazards and building code violations. The defendant settled the lawsuit after receiving a copy of our report.
Falling Lumber Display:
A carpenter was purchasing a 1" x 5" x 10' plank from a large home improvement store. The lumber was displayed in self-service bins. During the selection process, a 12' plank slid off from an adjacent bin and struck the carpenter, injuring him. After we demonstrated that the lumber display was perfectly safe and could only have been in an unsafe position as a result of the carpenter's or a recent prior customer's actions, the case was settled.
Dr. Irving Ojalvo was, at the time of this article's publication, the Chairman of Technology Associates (www.technology-assoc.com), a forensic engineering firm with offices in New York City and Connecticut. The firm's technical personnel, all of whom have advanced degrees, perform accident reconstruction involving issues of biomechanics, mechanical, traffic, and human factors engineering.
©Copyright - All Rights Reserved
DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION BY AUTHOR.
10/23/2012· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Low Speed Automobile Collisions
Low speed motor vehicle collisions are a common occurrence. The use of cellular phones, text messaging, and e-mailing while driving has only increased the frequency of low speed motor vehicle collisions. A motor vehicle collision where there is only minor damage to the vehicles may result in personal injury claims for substantial sums.
8/3/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Bank Fraud Using Letters of Credit: An Expert’s Perspective
It begins by Mr. Natal walking into TheBank and requesting to open an account for his company that’s just opened a new office in town. With his bank documents, he deposits funds for several million dollars.
8/26/2013· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Clues: Tractor Accidents and Rollover Protective Structures
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.
