Elevators, Escalators, Automatic Doors Expert Witnesses: 5

Mike Panish is an expert witness & consultant for most construction trades, specializing in automatic door systems and door sensors, door, door hardware, cabinetry, and architectural millwork. Extensive experience working for plaintiff & defense (Federal & State). Highly credible & solid testimony. Licensed in CA as a General Building Contractor, Electrical Contractor, Door, Lock & Security Equipment Contractor, Cabinet & Millwork Contractor, and Painting & Finish Specialties Contractor. Over 40 years hands-on experience in all construction trades with over 2000 cases since the year 2000. Local to CA & New England. Nationwide Inspection & Testimony in every state and internationally. 

Mike Panish is the most retained and the leading expert witness for Automatic Door injuries / Wrongful Death and Door Defects and Injuries. Security issues relating to daycare & healthcare centers. Construction defects, product liability, poor workmanship relating to contractor vs homeowner disputes and contractor fraud.

Areas of Expertise:

• Automatic Door Personal Injury, Wrongful Death Cases
• Door and Door Hardware Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Defects Cases
• Gates (all types including sliding, parking arm gates)
• Cabinetry, Architectural Millwork, Furniture Personal injury, Defects Cases
• Slip, Trip, Fall / Railings / ADA Personal Injury Cases
• General Construction (all trades) Defects Cases, Personal Injury Cases, Wrongful Death
• Premises Liability, Premises Security for Criminal Cases, Elder Abuse Cases, Wrongful Death
• Building Inspections (all types), Site Evaluation, Product Evaluation, Defect Analysis, Poor Workmanship, Costs & Estimates, Plans Analysis, Proper Installation, Claim Analysis

View Michael Panish's Consulting Profile.

Anthony S. Boom is an Electrical Engineer and Escalator Controls Expert Witness with over 35 years in the escalator business. Currently providing expert witness services though Cetek, Inc., he spent the last three decades working as an Electrical Engineer with Montgomery Escalator and KONE R&D, escalator division.

Three patents Mr. Boom received while working at Montgomery and at KONE include one for Safety Switch and Method of Checked Redundancy, utilized in all of the current transit escalator safety circuits; an Apparatus and Method for Variable Torque Braking of Escalator and Moving Walkways; and a Method and Conveyor System for KONE Sleep Mode Controller.

Litigation Support - Mr. Boom offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. Services include expert witness testimony, written or oral affidavits, site inspections, technical investigations, technical review documentation, etc. 

Areas of Expertise:

Background Experience and Accomplishments:

• Designed and developed many custom escalator electrical controls. He also designed and wrote the code for Montgomery Escalator and KONE escalator controls, including the controls for the Trans 180 escalator platform (the ES373’s model).
• Developed diagnostic guides for escalator controllers and braking systems and technical bulletins for all aspects of the escalator electrical control system.
• Oversaw the CSA certification of the escalator control and brake systems.
• Supervised and trained electrical and mechanical engineers.
• Provided tech support to KONE personnel regarding Otis controls and performed power studies on a variety of Otis escalators. 

Selected Case Experience:

• 2022: Escalator at department store, PA: Alleged injury on escalator.
• 2023: High rise transit escalator, NY: Ongoing.
• 2023: Public transportation escalator, NY: Ongoing.  See CV for Full List

LECS (UK) Limited  is an International Engineering Firm specializing in Lifts, Escalators, Facade Access and Funiculars (cable cars). With over 20 years of trading history, their specialized engineers are qualified, experienced and carry full professional insurances. Members of the engineering team have all worked for major contractors and have held positions including Senior Engineer, Project Manager and Commissioning / Test Engineers. As a result, LECS has over 150 years of accumulated experience within the key staff of the engineering team and currently employs 10% of the world’s graduates of the MSc in Lift Engineering from the University of Northampton.

LECS (UK) Limited is a member of independent bodies such as ACE, BSI and ConstructionLine. They have an accredited Quality Assurance scheme to ISO 9001 (2008) and are regularly audited. They provide services for many market sectors including overseas projects, hotels, retail, commercial health, local authority and heritage. The engineers at LECS (UK) have extensive experience as Expert Witnesses and Consultants in litigation involving lifts and escalators. Their services include preparing expert reports in accordance with Regulation 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules and also in Criminal cases. They are also available for adjudication and arbitration cases. LECS (UK) expert witness services have been called on in overseas situations including Gran Canaria, Dubai, Hong Kong, Spain and Turkey.

Services Include:

• Expert Witness - Litigation Support
• Statutory Inspections
• Maintenance Audits
• Acquisition & Condition Surveys
• Project Management
• Traffic Analysis
• Risk Assessments
• New Installations & Modernization Specifications
• Maintenance Specifications
• Training
• Portfolio Management

Quality Forensic Engineering, LLC is a full-service forensic engineering firm, providing engineering support to clients in the areas of accident reconstruction, biomechanics, fire investigations, patent litigation analysis, premises liability, product liability, and tire failure analysis. We use the latest technology and industry proven techniques to provide thorough analysis and conclusions for the most difficult engineering questions. Our forensic engineers support clients throughout the U.S. Headquartered in Tallahassee, FL, we have locations in Jacksonville, FL; Melbourne, FL; Tampa, FL; Indianapolis, IN; New Orleans, LA; San Diego, CA; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; and Tucson, AZ.

Dr. Brian Pfeifer, PhD, PE - Dr. Pfeifer is an Engineering Expert with over 25 years of experience investigating thousands of cases involving a variety of forensic engineering issues. He is a leading expert in accident reconstruction, roadside safety, maintenance of traffic, commercial vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and the analysis of mechanical systems and product failures. Dr. Pfeifer has a strong background in the design, development, and implementation of roadside safety hardware including guardrails, bridge rails, and crash cushions. Over 33 patents have been filed worldwide on behalf of Dr. Pfeifer and associated colleagues who invented safer guardrail systems, vehicle storage systems, shipping container handling systems, and material handling and storage methods. He has also utilized his technical knowledge and understanding of patents to assist in a number of matters involving patent litigation.

Dr. Pfeifer has published numerous papers to various organizations, covering topics such as new guardrail systems, energy absorbing guardrail terminals, breakaway sign mechanisms, and material handling technology. He has shared his expertise with many organizations on topics including vehicle collisions, bicycle accidents, roadway construction zones, and accident reconstruction expert witness utilization. Dr. Pfeifer is a registered Professional Engineer in nine states and he continues to refine his skills and knowledge of accident reconstruction and roadside safety by staying current with new technology and best practices. Dr. Pfeifer has extensive experience with providing deposition and trial testimony as an Engineering Expert. See Full Bio & CV.

Expertise:

Dr. Ian M. Zeller, PhD, ACTAR, is an accomplished engineer with more than 10 years of experience in Biomechanics and Computational Dynamics fields. He has investigated hundreds of cases ranging from motor vehicle accidents, recreational incidents, medical device designs, as well as injuries from product liability all across the United States. 

Dr. Zeller has graduate level experience in computational dynamics and orthopedic biomechanics with a specific emphasis in dynamics, vibrations, joint contact mechanics, and muscle control during static and dynamic loading applications. Dr. Zeller’s past research includes clinical and computational analysis of the human body with respect to the design and implantation of orthopedic devices for the knee, hip, and spine. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented research at both technical and surgical conferences in North America, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Zeller also worked with surgeons across the United States in the design and assessment of knee replacement devices, including personalized and prototype devices to optimize for efficacy and safety. 

Dr. Zeller is also accredited as a traffic accident reconstructionist and continues to conduct research as well as maintain a current knowledge of developing trends and best practices in the biomechanics and engineering fields. Dr. Zeller has published to various organizations on topics ranging from knee replacement design, forward solution modeling, joint mechanics, personalized joint replacements, material structures and properties as well as biological modeling of disease distributions. He also has an extensive testifying history including depositions, trials, and arbitrations.

 See Full Bio & CV.

Expertise:

Michael R. Hill, PhD, PE, is a Biomechanical Engineer passionate about applying biomechanics techniques to solve diverse problems in forensics, medical research, engineering, biology, science, and mathematics. He is an expert in experimental, theoretical, and computational Tissue Biomechanics, with a focus on injury mechanisms, human tissue damage, and nonlinear soft tissue mechanics.

Dr. Hill’s core strengths are in orthopedic and cardiovascular biomechanics, vehicle accident reconstruction, injury consistency analysis, mechanical design, instrumentation, experimental analysis, numerical methods, simulation, statistics, and image processing. Dr. Hill has lectured in the field of biomechanics and numerical methods, and his research has been published in 16 academic articles and presented at 40 international and national scientific conferences.

See Full Bio & CV.

Expertise:

View Quality Forensic Engineering's Industrial Forensic Engineering Expert Witness Profile.

Summary

Trusted by clients since 2001, Rauch Safety & Engineering specializes in guiding private and public clients through complex Fall Protection and Confined Spaces Infrastructure Access and Maintenance projects across specific industry sectors and markets utilizing our global network of resources to provide comprehensive world class advisory and management services.

With real world, hands on international experience, Rauch Safety & Engineering offers:

 Consultation

• Expert Testimony
• Litigation Support
• The Rendering of Independent Expert Opinion
• Strategic Advice to Attorneys and Clients Concerning Technical Issues
• Safety Violations
• Accidents
• Project and Human Factors and related Negligence and Incompetence

Principal Areas of Specialization Include:

Applications Include:

Current and Past Memberships & Affiliations:

• Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC)
• Design Build Institute of America (DBIA)
• The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME)
• Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
• National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP ASE)
• National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)
• India Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association

View Rauch Safety and Engineering's Consulting Profile.