Electrical Shock and Fires Expert Witnesses: 10

Thomas H. Burtness, PE, is an Electrical Engineer specializing in both Electrical and Building Construction - equipment selection, specification, and installation (actually “working with the tools”), as well as cost control techniques.

Background - Mr. Burtness has 40+ years of experience in the design, specification, construction contract administration, installation, startup, and troubleshooting of electrical power, on-site generation, distribution, control, and instrumentation systems and equipment for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal occupancies. His experience also includes water, wastewater, and stormwater treatment plants, and military facilities.

Additional expertise includes Illumination Engineering for street, roadway, and area lighting including photometric footcandle requirements, calculations, field verification, equipment specifications, installation, and analysis of failure, glare, overlighting and underlighting.

Litigation Support - Since, 1981, Mr. Burtness has been providing forensic electrical engineering services to insurance companies and attorneys including accident and failure investigations, determination of cause and origin, litigation support, expert opinions, reports, and testimony. His services are available nationwide, with PE registration by comity available in most states.

Cases Involve:

Industrial Accidents Electrocution Personal Injury Fire Equipment and Machinery Failure

Failure of Safety Circuitry Grounding Lightning Damage and Fire Construction Defects / Contract Claims Design and Specification Disputes

View Thomas Burtness' Consulting Profile.

Gregory J. Cahanin, CP works in the Fire Protection Engineering field. Over 40 years of experience in the application of sound engineering principles work to produce results in litigation cases. He is nationally recognized as a Life Safety and Fire Protection expert. He performs fire origin and cause, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, kitchen suppression, fire wall and compartmentation failures, and slip and fall forensic investigations.

Gregory J. Cahanin Fire & Code Consulting has been based in St. Petersburg, FL for over 25 years.

Background - Mr. Cahanin served as a Senior Life Safety Engineer with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the organization that writes Fire Protection Codes and Standards. He was staff liaison for building construction standards and the Fire Prevention Code. Special project work included support of the International Division of NFPA in a survey of fire protection for all oil production facilities of LaGoven SA in Venezuela; an evaluation of the existing airport terminal in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; and a code comparison study for the National Institute of Building Sciences. Mr. Cahanin investigated multiple fatality fires for NFPA and his reports are nationally published and peer reviewed. Mr. Cahanin holds Professional Grade Membership in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. Mr. Cahanin has earned three undergraduate degrees in Fire Science and Fire Protection and a Master in Public Administration.

Litigation Support - Mr. Cahanin regularly testifies in fire cases offering opinions on the origin and cause of fires in addition to component failures in construction, fire sprinkler systems, kitchen suppression systems and product failures. He is nationally published on fire protection requirements in the building code as a contributing editor on the 2006 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) Commentary where he edited the sections on fire-resistance rated construction. He currently serves on code committees with both the NFPA and ICC. Mr. Cahanin holds a NALA paralegal certification and is well versed in Civil Procedure, interrogatory, expert report writing, and trial procedures. 

Mr. Cahanin meets the professional qualifications of NFPA 1033, Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigator as documented in a Florida Declaratory Statement held by no other fire expert in the state of Florida. Investigations of note include the Warwick. R.I. Station Nightclub Fire in 2003 with 100 fatalities. In Wyatt v. Security Alarms Co., Inc. key testimony on the failure of a Viking automatic fire sprinkler established a product liability that resulted in a $1.4M dollar jury award for Wyatt in Oklahoma. Mr. Cahanin's services are available to plaintiff and defendant attorneys. Case work can include site investigation, materials testing, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Fire Origin and Cause Determination Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems Fire Hazard Analysis Fire Sprinklers Fire-based Construction Defects CPVC Sprinkler Pipe Failure

Fire Walls and Compartmentation Life Safety Egress & Compliance Fire & Building Code Compliance Explosion Analysis and Cause Fire Alarm Failures Walking Surface Slip Trip & Fall

View Cahanin Fire & Code's Consulting Profile.

H. Landis “Lanny” Floyd II, PE, CSP, CMRP, CRL, CESCP, Life Fellow IEEE, has over 45 years of experience in Electrical Safety in the Workplace. His work has advanced the application of Human Factors Engineering, Electrical Technology, and Safety Management Systems in preventing occupational electrical injuries. Mr. Floyd retired from DuPont in 2014, holding the positions of Principal Consultant - Electrical Safety & Technology, and Global Electrical Safety Competency Leader. 

Click here for my current CV

Background Experience - For the past 35 years, Mr. Floyd focused on electrical safety in the construction, operation, and maintenance of industrial and commercial facilities worldwide for DuPont. This included safety management systems, competency renewal, work practices, and the application of technologies critical to electrical safety performance. From 1992 to 2014, he led the team that designed and facilitated implementation of a strategy for continuous and sustainable improvement in occupational electrical safety for DuPont Global Operations. This work enabled breakthrough performance in prevention of serious injuries and fatalities from electrical energy in DuPont facilities worldwide. In 2013, Mr. Floyd was invited to join the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he teaches in the Advanced Safety Engineering and Management Master of Engineering degree program. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Floyd has been providing expert witness services and litigation support for over 10 years. His expertise is available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. Mr. Floyd's services include consulting, site inspections, testing, reports, depositions, and trial testimony when necessary. 

Areas of Expertise:

Workplace Electrical Safety Electrical Shock Arc Flash Electrical Safety Management Systems Electrical Codes and Standards NFPA70E & National Electrical Safety Code National Electrical Code Electrical Testing Instruments

Electrical Injury Electrocution Electrical Reliability Electrical Maintenance Electrical Construction Occupational Electrical Safety Electric Power Systems Overhead Power Lines

View Lanny Floyd's Consulting Profile.

Envista Forensics is a global leader in Forensic Engineering & Recovery Solutions. They provide Cause & Origin, Failure Analysis, Fire and Explosion Investigations, Accident Reconstruction, Damage Evaluations and Equipment Restoration Services following disasters of all kinds. Envista has offered Consulting Services to the insurance, legal and risk management industries, as well as businesses, public entities, and universities for over 25 years.

Their Experts travel globally from 30 offices located across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Australia and Singapore. Envista's experience counts when equipment, systems, structures, or data have been threatened by catastrophe or litigation. Their experts and advisors determine cause and responsibility, and identify the nature and extent of damage or loss and provide a full range of solutions to protect their assets.

Envista's technical professionals are trusted advisors and industry leaders. Their expertise is broad and deep, capable of withstanding all forms of scrutiny. Envista's services are available globally so that certainty is assured no matter where in the world it is needed. As the recovery from disasters has grown more complex, Envista has developed a comprehensive array of services to help their clients and has associates located around the globe to provide assurance no matter the type of loss or location of the disaster. Envista helps attorneys quickly get to meaningful answers on the many technical issues at the center of a dispute. Their engineers have decades of experience working with both defendants and plaintiffs.

They offer effective Expert Witness Testimony, with the ability to communicate effectively, build rapport with juries and judges, and maintain adherence to structured, methodical approaches in drawing conclusions are all extremely critical. Envista Forensics understands how critical the selection of an expert can be, and we understand what makes experts effective. Their court qualified experts have extensive experience providing expert testimony on a wide variety of engineering and technical matters.

Areas of Expertise:

Aviation & Aerospace Biomechanics Construction Defects Digital Forensics Electrical Injury & Electrocutions Causation Chemical Computer / Network Equipment Failure Construction Defect Disputes over Reparability of Damage Electrical Failure Equipment Restoration Fire & Explosion Analysis Equipment Restoration

Industrial / Manufacturing Equipment Materials Failure Mechanical Accidents Mechanical Failure Medical / Laboratory Equipment Product Failure / Liability Project Management Structural Failure Subrogation Utility & Energy Valuation of Structures or Equipment Vehicle Accident Investigation Workplace / Premises Accidents

View Envista's Consulting Profile.

A Licensed Professional Engineer in 11 states, John Averrett specializes in Electrical Shock / Electrocution, Utilities, Lightning Strikes, and Grounding cases involving death, personal injury, industrial equipment failure, vehicular accidents, fire cause/origin, contract, and construction disputes. 

Areas of practice include: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas; other states by comity. 

John Averrett is Executive Vice President of Goodwyn Mills & Cawood headquartered in Montgomery, AL. He has more than 25 years' experience in plan development for governmental, municipal, industrial and commercial clients and is currently coordinating a group of twelve other electrical engineers and designers. In addition to his design efforts, Mr. Averrett's experience includes work with electric utilities that includes transmission, sub-stations, and distribution; work with investigating lightning strikes; work with investigating grounding insufficiencies; and work analyzing and providing solutions for arc flash hazards.

Litigation Support - Mr. Averrett offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. He provides site review, thorough reporting, deposition, and trial testimony as needed nationwide.

Electrical Engineering Electrocution Lightning Lightning Protection Arc Flash Electrical Safety

Building Analysis Grounding Shock Electric Shock Drowning Breaker Coordination Electrical Utility Districution

Areas of Expertise:

Accident Reconstruction Biomechanics Human Factors Safety Accident Prevention Adequacy of Warnings Building Codes Coefficient of Friction Construction Defect 3D Scans Failure Analysis

Industrial / Recreational / Structural OSHA Compliance Premises Liability Product Integrity / Testing Computer Animation and stimulations Defense and Plaintiff Cases Civil & Criminal Educational Seminars Litigation and Non-litigation Mediation / Arbitration Services Court Testimony over 2000 x's

Auto • Airbag • Bicycle • Boating • Bus • Chair Design / Safety / Failure • Diving and Drowning • Electrocution and Shock • Elevator • Escalator • Fires and Explosions • Forklift • Gate • Golf Cart • Highway Design and Safety • Ladder • Law Enforcement • Lighting & Illumination • Loading Dock • Metallurgy • Motorcycle • Paintgun • Playground Safety • Press • Ramps • Rollercoaster • Safety Guards • Scaffolding • Seatbelts • Slip / Trip and Fall • Spas • Stairs • Swimming Pool Design and Safety • Tractors • Trailers • Trucks • 3D Scans

The four PhD and registered PEs at Miller Engineering are celebrating 40 years of Professorships at three universities along with providing services to Government, Insurance, and Industry—through research, publications, presentations, and expert testimony. We have a dedicated office with a full time staff of engineers, researchers, and technical writers. The span of our collective academic and experiential expertise covers well the Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Agricultural, Industrial, Human Factors, Ergonomic and Safety fields of engineering. The areas listed below are from actual projects completed in our 40 years of history. 

Vehicles Car/Truck Accident Reconstruction Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) Visibility & Reaction Time Analysis Tires, Trailers, Brakes & Accelerators Truck/Off Road Vehicle Egress/Ingress Traffic Signing and Construction Zones Electronic Vehicles Mechanical & Electrical Safety Product Safety & Analysis Machinery - Metal, Wood, Plastic Molding Machine Guarding & Safety, Robots, Automation Hazard and Risk Analysis Employee Safety Procedures – OSHA Electrical Distribution & Transmission Hazards

Warnings & Instructions Warning Labels & User Manual Design Hazard Analysis & Product Label Designs Medical Device & Drug Warnings & Instructions Inadequate Warnings Analysis Standard Compliance (ANSI Z535) Product Recall Information & Strategies Consumers/Household Safety Appliances & Tools Child Furniture, Choking, Playgrounds Swimming Pools & Exercise Equipment Recreation - ATV, Boats, Bicycles, Boards Ladder, Stair, Step and Railing Accidents Slip, Trip, & Fall Accidents CPSC Recall Information & Strategies

Chemicals Safety & Labeling NEW OSHA HAZCOM (2012) & GHS Review MSDS, SDS and Product Label Compliance Toxic Torts - Diacetyl, Asbestos, Benzene, Lead, Carbon Monoxide Vaping & E-Cigarette Health Effects Chemical Exposures & Workplace Safety Chemical Inhalation, Ingestion, Dermal Contact Contamination - Water & Environmental Manufacturing & Process Line Accidents Slips, Trips, Falls, & Entanglements Fires & Explosions Cause & Origin Investigations Gas, Vapor, & Electrical Spontaneous Combustion Vaping & E-cigarette Battery Failures Fire Control & Explosion Issues

Agriculture Tractor & Equipment Accidents Chemical Applications & Exposures Crop Storage & Harvesting Accidents Pesticides Construction Vehicle Visibility Accidents Slip, Trip, & Fall Accidents Power Tool Repetitive & Immediate Injuries Scaffolding - Cranes - Hoisting - Fork Lifts Insurance Subrogation & Forensics Accident Investigations Electrical & Fire Causation Chemical Leakage Damage Defective Equipment Injuries Premise and Process Damages

James M. Miller, PE, PhD – Founder  Dr. Miller is an Emeritus Engineering Professor at the University of Michigan. He has directly served in Washington originating several Federal OSHA safety regulations, and interacts regularly with CPSC regarding safety and product recalls. Dr. Miller often works on projects relating to compliance with occupational safety standards, provides upper management guidance on product design, recall and liability issues, and serves as an expert witness.

Mark R. Lehto, PhD – Co-Founder Dr. Lehto is a Professor of Engineering at Purdue University. He completed his Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Michigan, where he specialized in Human Factors Engineering, in particular Warnings and Labeling. Dr. Lehto specializes in knowledge engineering, warnings and instructions, structuring expert systems, accident modeling, accident statistical analysis, consumer product safety, boating safety, in-field national surveys of product usage, and product information effectiveness.

Adam M. Olshove, PE, MSE – Engineering Manager Mr. Olshove has over 10 years of experience providing consulting services to industry and the legal profession. He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on control systems and battery modeling (2019), and a BS in Mechanical Engineering (2012), both from the University of Michigan. He has performed dozens of on-site investigations nationwide in relation to consumer product design and industrial accidents, including failure analysis and testing.

James M.L. Miller, MS, PhD, EIT – Engineering Associate Dr. Miller is an Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. Dr. Miller graduated with a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2021, advised by Dr. Thomas W. Kenny. At JMME he has applied his expertise to biomedical heat transfer problems and energy management in hydroelectric systems, solar arrays and portable battery usage.

Jeffrey D. Rupp, MSE – Engineering Associate Mr. Rupp has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and a MS in systems engineering and engineering management from Wayne State University. Among his company affiliates is 26 years with Ford Motor Company and Volvo Car Corporation, where he was involved in crash development and crash sensing calibrations.

Mari S. Truman, PE, has more than 40 years of experience in Orthopedic Product Design and Development. As Principal Engineer with her company, Orthobiomech, LLC, she acts as an R&D design and development consultant to the orthopaedic industry and an injury biomechanics and medical device forensic expert. Ms. Truman's design experience includes implants and instrumentation systems used to repair fractured bones, torn ligaments and/or to reconstruct spine, knee, wrist, hip, ankle, elbow, thumb based cmc, and other finger and toe joints for many of the USA based orthopaedic conglomerates and a few Asian, Australian and European firms. Having designed and developed implants and instruments used for both human joint reconstruction and skeletal trauma repair, Ms. Truman is named on 12 Orthopaedic Patents and frequently gives talks on implant design and injury biomechanics on topics such as: knee and thumb-based joint surfaces and kinematics, joint design, rapid prototyping, medical device design control, and injury biomechanics. Litigation Support - Ms. Truman has been providing Forensic Impact and Injury Biomechanics and Orthopedic Biomechanics to the legal industry for over 15 years. She draws on her strong knowledge of FDA and ISO EN13485 compliant design control processes, failure modes and effects analysis, clinically relevant tissue loading, and design safety assurance, including device performance requirements and warnings, during her medical device litigation reviews. Ms. Truman has a strong knowledge of the production and quality assurance processes used in the manufacture, cleaning, and sterilization of medical devices and the effects of such processes on product performance. Analysis of Traumatic Injuries Related To:

Falls and Fall Recovery Vehicular Collisions Assaults and Fights Projectile Impacts Occupation or Workplace

Failed Medical Implants Assistive Devices Orthotics Consumer Products Sports and Recreation, Occupational Overuse / Injury

View OrthoBioMech LLC's Consulting Profile.

Since 1988, Real-World Forensic Engineering, LLC ("RWFE") has provided engineering services to industries and government labs, as well as litigation support to both plaintiff and defense attorneys practicing in many areas.

RWFE Areas of Expertise Include:

Components & Machinery Metallurgy & Corrosion Dynamics of Impact & Collisions Friction Analysis / Slips, Trips and Falls Intellectual Property & Patent Review Accident Reconstruction / Animation Computer Aided Design Education & Training

Electrocution & Switch Malfunction Grounding & Lightning Protection Lightning Impulse Testing Products and Premises Liability & Safety High-Voltage & Current Power Systems Bridge Design and Safety Fire & Explosion Cause and Origin And Much More...

At RWFE, we proudly distinguish ourselves by our Four C's:

CREDENTIALS. COMPETENCE. CREDIBILITY. COMMUNICATION.

Credentials:	B.S., M.S., M.Eng., M.B.A., J.D., and Ph.D. Degrees Licensed Professional Engineers in Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineering Tenured University Professors and Professionals NAFI Certified Fire and Explosion Investigators (CFEI) Licensed Master Electricians
Competence:	Over 80 Combined Years of Experience in Engineering R&D, Industry, Academia, Consulting, and Expert Witness Litigation Support Over 120 Combined Deposition and Court Testimonies
Credibility:	Internationally Recognized in Our Areas of Expertise More Than $19 Million in Peer-reviewed and Funded Research Grants Over 200 Combined Scientific Publications and Journal Articles
Communication:	Over 20 Different Undergraduate and Graduate-level University Courses Over 30 Invited Short Courses, Talks, and Lectures

Design Evaluation – Accident Investigation – Intellectual Property - Failure Analysis – Fire Cause & Origin – Component Testing - Computer Aided Drafting – Accident Animation - Expert Witness & Litigation Support

www.ExpertEngineering.com

Henry W. Stormer, IAAI-CFI(V), CFPS, is the President / National Manager for VERTEX FIRE INVESTIGATIONS LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The VERTEX COMPANIES LLC. His responsibilities include management of a forensic fire investigation team conducting Fire Origin and Cause Investigations nationwide for the insurance industry.

Mr. Stormer has over 37 years of experience investigating in excess of 2,300 fires and explosions both in the public (25 years) and private sectors (12 years). He is a Certified Fire Investigator through the IAAI and a Certified Public Fire and Life Safety Instructor, with both certifications recognized by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications. He is also a Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the NFPA.

Litigation Support - Mr. Stormer has served as an expert witness and is actively engaged in several legal cases related to property damage, product liability, personal injury, and criminal activity. Mr. Stormer's legal support activities have included depositions, interrogatories, mediation, arbitration, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Fire Origin and Cause Explosions Incendiary Fires Product Liability Household Appliances / Hood Systems / Dryers Photovoltaic Arrays and Battery Storage Systems Large and Complex Fire Scenes

Vehicle Fire Investigations Subrogation Failure Analysis Evidence Collection and Preservation Fire Code Analysis and Research Crime Scene Investigations Arson Investigations

Mr. Stormer is currently licensed as a Private Investigator, Manager in: AL, CT, DE, FL, IN, KY, MD, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, SC, TX, VT, WV with reciprocal licensing in: AL, CA, GA, LA, NC, TN and VA.