Exercise / Fitness Equipment Expert Witnesses

Frank J. Smith, owner of Elite Fitness Consulting Services, has over 40 years of practical experience in the Fitness and Sport Equipment industries. He is available to testify as an Expert Witness in legal matters relating to Fitness Training, Fitness Equipment and Product Safety. Mr. Smith's clients include Academic Institutions, Insurance Companies, Health Clubs, Corporations and Private Persons. Fit Witness can help you resolve legal difficulties with health clubs and sporting facilities.

Mr. Smith's noted background makes him a qualified, impartial Expert on behalf of both Plaintiff and Defense. He served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports for 7 years, developing, organizing, implementing and supervising six national symposiums on "Employee Health & Fitness. Mr. Smith was also invited by the White House to give a presentation to 650 medical doctors during the "Fitness in America - The Medical View" symposium.

Areas of Expertise:

Fitness & Exercise Accident Reconstruction Fitness & Exercise Equipment Selectorized Equipment Cardio Equipment Sauna's and Steam Rooms Fitness Facility Design Free Weight Equipment

Plate Load Equipment Equipment Design Equipment Use Flooring Private Trainers Equipment, Warnings & Facility Signage Fitness Equipment Instruction of Use

View Frank Smith's Consulting Profile.

Harvey C. Voris’ entire engineering career has been devoted to the Fitness Industry. He has over 35 years of Fitness Equipment Design experience and has been issued 7 U.S. utility patents.

Mr. Voris has a Bachelors of Science in Engineering from UCLA with a specialization in Bio Structural Mechanics. His Masters in Engineering is from Cal State Long Beach where he specialized in Fatigue and Failure Analysis. Mr. Voris has spent 21 years devoted to the development and promotion of safety standards for the fitness industry. He has authored numerous standards and has chaired the ASTM committee devoted to fitness standards development since 1995.

Litigation Support - Mr. Voris provides engineering analysis and accident reconstruction related to consumer and fitness products and facilities. His services are available to attorneys representing both plaintiff and defense. With 35 years of experience, a biomechanics background, and extensive experience in design and product testing, Mr. Voris speaks with authority on the following critical issues:

Product Liability - Patent Development - Patent Infringement - Facility Risk Management - Standards Compliance

View Harvey Voris' Consulting Profile.

The experts at Miller Engineering are Ann Arbor-based professional engineers celebrating 35 years of service to University, Government, Insurance, and Industry through research, publications, presentations, and testimony. Miller Engineering has a staff of engineers and experts in the Mechanical, Chemical, Agriculture, Industrial, and Human Factors fields of engineering with specific knowledge in the following areas: 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

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

Chemicals Safety & Labeling

• NEW OSHA HAZCOM (2012) & GHS Review
• MSDS, SDS and Product Label Compliance
• Toxic Torts - Diacetyl, Asbestos, Benzene, Lead, Carbon Monoxide

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

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

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

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 Professor at the University of Michigan College of Engineering and a registered professional engineer and consultant with over 35 years of experience as an expert witness. He specializes in warnings, labeling and instruction manuals, consumer product design, machine guarding, process safety, fire science, vehicle visibility, tractor egress/ingress, pedestrian and worker slip and fall prevention, recreational vehicles (ATVs, boats, and personal watercraft), compliance with occupational safety and consumer safety standards (OSHA, MSDS, CPSC, ANSI, ASTM, UL, etc.).
	Mark R. Lehto, PhD – Co-Founder Dr. Lehto is a Professor of Engineering at Purdue University. He 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.
	Bradley T. Cook, PE – Managing Engineer Bradley is a registered professional engineer and consultant with extensive experience in accident reconstruction. He specializes in vehicular accident reconstruction and has investigated hundreds of vehicle accidents involving cars, trucks, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, etc. Bradley also has experience in product safety and hazard analysis; occupational safety and health (OSHA) compliance; pedestrian and worker slip and fall prevention; investigation and reconstruction of industrial and consumer product accidents. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Science in Engineering with a Biomedical concentration from Purdue University.

Douglas Baumgarten, M.S., offers consulting and expert witness services related to Fitness, Health Clubs, Exercise Equipment, Personal Training and Sports. Mr. Baumgarten is a graduate of Harvard University and California University of Penna. (M.S. Exercise Science). He is a certified Health/Fitness Director (Amer. Coll. of Sports Medicine), Performance Enhancement Specialist, Medical Exercise Specialist, Bike Fitter, cycling coach, and baseball/softball official.

Mr. Baumgarten has 35+ years in the fitness industry, as personal trainer, manager, consultant, equipment dealer, President of a large fitness company, and owner of SportFit Consulting. He has over 12 years' experience as a legal expert, on cases from equipment accidents to health club employee conduct. He works with both plaintiffs and defendants, and has testified in civil and criminal courts.

Mr. Baumgarten has contributed to Fitness Management magazine, Boardroom magazine, Club Management magazine, and other publications. His expertise also includes facility design and layout, as well as exercise equipment safety and efficacy.

Tom M. McLellan, Phd, is an Exercise and Environmental Physiologist whose expertise is in understanding the limitations of working in Protective Clothing, as well as developing strategies to Optimize Physical and Cognitive Performance During Sustained Operations.

Consulting / Litigation Support - Dr. McLellan works as a consultant researching and writing articles for clients in the United States and Canada’s Department of Defense. He also provides service as an expert consultant for legal firms and as an expert witness for the effects of caffeine in energy drinks. Projects include research support to the US Army, University of Ottawa, and Defence R&D Canada.

Dr. McLellan's areas of expertise include:

Exercise Physiology: Respiratory Physiology Acid-Base Regulation Blood Lactate Response Ergogenic Aids Nutritional Supplements Immuno-inflammatory Response to Acute and Chronic Stress

Heat Strain in Protective Clothing: Aerobic Fitness Heat Acclimation Hydration Gender Menstrual Cycle Body Composition Work / Rest Cycles

Background Experience - Dr. McLellan worked as a Defense Scientist at Defence R&D Canada in Toronto for 27 years before retiring from the Public Service in 2012. Dr. McLellan’s research expertise evolved during the original Gulf War in 1991 when the Allied Forces were in need of evidence-based recommendations for operating in the extreme environments of the Middle East while wearing Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Protective Clothing.

Dr. McLellan conducted numerous laboratory trials to study the influence of fitness, hydration, heat acclimation, sex, circadian rhythm, body composition, microclimate cooling, metabolic rate and the environment on heat tolerance while wearing the NBC clothing. His research led to work and rest guidelines for Canadian Forces personnel and other NATO Forces wearing the protective clothing. In addition, he was contacted and subsequently developed similar guidelines for the Toronto Fire Service and other Fire Services across Ontario, which led to a citation award from the Toronto Fire Service in 2004.

Dr. McLellan also established an expertise on the use of caffeine during sustained military operations to maintain physical and cognitive performance during these overnight clandestine operations that provide little opportunity for sleep. Together with military scientists in the United States and New Zealand several evidence-based field trials were conducted with Special Forces personnel to document the benefits of using a caffeinated gum during overnight periods of sleep loss. The findings led to the production of Stay Alert gum for use by deployed service personnel.

Author / Educator - Dr. McLellan has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles and government reports. Dr. McLellan was presented with an achievement award for outstanding collaborative research within the international community of military scientists four times over his career. He held adjunct appointments at York University in Toronto, was a full professor at the University of Toronto and currently holds an adjunct appointment at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario. He also served as an Associate Editor of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise for 7 years.