Accident Reconstruction Engineer Expert Witness

Professional Profile

I am a Licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Safety Professional with over 30 years experience as a safety engineer. After my retirement from Chrysler, I have been working with plaintiff and defense attorneys on personal injury cases, as well as some product liability cases. I have found the same accident investigation process and root cause analysis works well for a diverse number of accident scenarios.

Since my retirement at the beginning of 2008, I have been retained for over 190 cases in 32 states. These cases include a plaintiff and defense mix. My experience working for both the plaintiff and the defense exemplifies my familiarity with both sides of litigation. I have trial, deposition, and arbitration experience.

I started as a production employee at General Motors and was quickly promoted to production supervisor. I was then promoted to the industrial engineer department and then moved into safety, becoming a plant safety engineer. Due to economic changes I was laid off from General Motors and worked as a safety engineer at Hawthorne Metal Products, Aeroquip, Ford, and Chrysler, as a plant/corporate safety engineer. I was the corporate Safety Director for the automotive arm of Aeroquip. In that capacity I was responsible for safety at 14 plants in seven states. This required an expertise in OSHA 29CFR 1910 and applicable ANSI standards.

I have a Professional Engineering license (PE) from Massachusetts with a safety discipline and am a Certified Safety Professional (CSP). My CSP was issued though the Bureau of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) out of Indianapolis, IN.

I have experience in machine design to make sure appropriate safety and design standards are incorporated into the final product. This includes print and equipment review at predetermined build stages. Equipment complexity has ranged from small single station presses, welders, assembly stations, etc., to multi-station machining, welding, and assembly lines. Plus, complex lines that included multiple robotic stations, vertical and horizontal gantries, transfer lines.

While working at Ford, I was responsible for safety of a construction arm that was working in-house. The employees were Ford employees and performed only construction work for Ford. This required expertise in applicable parts of OSHA 29CFR 1926 and applicable ANSI standards.

I am very familiar with occupational safety and health (OSHA) standards, ANSI standards, and ISO standards. For a number of years I was active with the Michigan OSHA standards sub-committee. My career spans both employee and equipment safety related issues.

My diverse experience has made it possible for me to apply learned accident investigation techniques/procedures to most all situations.

I am also a retired United States Air Force pilot.

EDUCATION

B.A.A., Central Michigan University.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

CSP – Certified Safety Professional
PE – Professional Engineer; Registered in Massachusetts, Discipline: Safety
Licensed Pilot – Multi-Engine, Instrument, Commercial License

WORK HISTORY

I provide expertise in accident reconstruction, OSHA violations, and safety standards. I have performed safety and environmental audits to ensure compliance with government and corporate safety regulations and have assisted in the development of safety plans and procedures, training programs, and their implementation.

Independent Consultant, Private Practice

Port Hope, MI, 2005 – Present

Provides expert witness services to plaintiff and defense attorneys, on personal injury cases.

Safety Engineer, Daimler-Chrysler

1996 – January 2008 (Retired)

Corporate Level: Advise DaimlerChrysler manufacturing plants on safety issues. Provide assistance as requested. Ensure DaimlerChrysler manufacturing plants are operating in concurrence with corporate, federal, and state laws and regulations. Plant Level: Responsible for the safety of 2,500 hourly and salary employees. Supervise a staff of nine. Ensure compliance with governmental and corporate safety and environmental regulations. Interact with outside contractors to ensure new equipment meets all applicable standards. Monitor outside construction crews for compliance with governmental and corporate construction standards. Recommend changes when compliance is marginal. Develop training programs and direct their implementation. Negotiate safety grievances. Perform accident investigations.

Safety Engineer, Ford Motor Company

1994-1996
Responsible for the safety of 3,500 hourly and salary employees – Supervised a staff of five. Ensure compliance with governmental and corporate safety and environmental regulations. Interact with outside contractors to ensure new equipment was in compliance with all applicable standards. Monitor outside construction crews for compliance with governmental and corporate construction standards. Recommend changes when compliance was marginal. Developed training programs and directed their implementation. Negotiate safety grievances. Perform accident investigations.

Director, Aeroquip, Automotive Group

1990-1994
Corporate Safety and Environment Affairs – Responsible for 14 plants in seven states. Dotted line supervisor for 14 safety supervisors. Supervised staff of three. Performed accident investigations. Ensured compliance with corporate and governmental regulations. Performed safety and environment audits. Applied for necessary environmental permits. Directed disposal of hazardous wastes. Developed training programs and taught same.

Safety Engineer, Hawthorne Metal Products

Royal Oak, MI, 1987 – 1990

Ensured compliance with corporate and governmental regulations. Developed and implemented safety training programs. Performed environmental and safety audits. Supervised staff of two. Performed accident investigations. Applied for required environmental permits.

Military Career

United States Air Force Retired, Civil Engineering Officer, United States Air Force Reserves

Various Locations, 1984 – 1996

Supervised a staff of four officers, ultimately supervising 150 men. Commanded squadron on national and international missions. Responsible for all phases of construction safety and building techniques. Responsible for compliance with all environmental and safety regulations.

Production Supervisor and Safety Engineer, General Motors

1977-1985
Supervised up to 40 hourly employees Die Design. CAD Instructor. Industrial Engineer. Work study analysis, safety engineer

Pilot, United States Air Force

1973 – 1976
Aircraft commander on national and international flights. Supervised flight crew of 5. Flying safety officer. Training officer