Forensic Engineering Investigations of Product Liability Cases

Engineers are regularly retained to perform investigations to determine whether or not a product is defective and liable for injuries sustained by an individual or damages by a commercial entity.

While engineers are trained to solve problems based on physical principles, little training is given to the graduate engineer to determine whether a product is “defective” or not. Since the majority of product liability actions result from an injury sustained by an individual using a product, the engineer is ultimately evaluating the safety of the product.

The authors of this paper will detail a general methodology to investigate product liability claims through the use of safety engineering principles.