Certified Human Factors Expert Witness

Expert Witness No. 2541

Maryland

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

8/93 – Present, President, A Human Factors Consulting Company
11/92 - 8/93 Sole Proprietor

Provide Human Factors consulting on product safety.  Relate how human behavior, product design, and environmental characteristics interact to create hazards.  Services include identifying and locating injury data, technical reports, and safety regulations, and performing the following:

Injury data analysis
Assess hazard probability and severity
Identify hazard patterns

Product design safety evaluation
Determine if hazards can be eliminated via design
Assess whether hazards could be addressed by warnings

Warning label design, test, and evaluation
Determine validity of “failure to warn” claims
Optimize label effectiveness in being seen, read, understood, and followed

Recommendations form the basis for product safety standards, product design and label specifications, instructions, publications, presentations, and testimony in litigated matters.   Qualified as a Human Factors expert in state and federal courts across the country.  Expert work is both national and international in scope.  Provide guidance to manufacturers, trade associations, distributors, testing laboratories, and attorneys.   Have 25 years experience in:

Product safety design
Children’s hazards and child development
Safety labels and instructions
Workings of US Consumer Product Safety Commission
Appreciation of risk (manufacturer vs. users
Workings of standards groups ASTM, ANSI, ISO

CHFP, awarded in 1993 by the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics.

Voting Member and Executive Committee, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee Z535 on Safety Signs and Colors.

Chairperson, ANSI Z535.3 Criteria for Safety Symbols Subcommittee, 1994 to present.

Member, ANSI Z535.4 Product Safety Signs and Labels Subcommittee, 1979 to present.

Vice-Chairperson and Delegate, US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to International Organization for Standardization,  ISO/TC 145 Graphical Symbols, 1996 to present.  Includes:
ISO 3864-2 Graphical Symbols - Design Principles for Product Safety Labels
ISO 9186 Graphical Symbols - Methods for Testing Comprehensibility
ISO 7010 Graphical Symbols – Safety Symbols

Voting Member, ASTM F-15 Committee on Consumer Products and Subcommittees, 1993 to present.  Includes Consumer Safety Specifications for:

Toys
Cribs
Bunk beds
Chest of drawers
Play yards
Bassinets
High chairs
Infant bedding
Drawstrings
Bed rails
Changing tables
Toddler beds
Strollers
Infant walkers
Swimming pools
Five gallon buckets
Soccer goals
Cigarette lighters

Member, National Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and Technical Groups on Safety, Forensics, and Product Design, 1983 to present. 
Member, Potomac Chapter, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 1983 to present.

BACKGROUND

9/79-10/92    Engineering Psychologist, Human Factors Division
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

For 13 years, performed Human Factors assessments of consumer products to determine if a hazard exists that warrants action, and to determine how to reduce injuries.  Analyzed accident data to identify hazard patterns, evaluated product designs and safety labels and instructions, developed and adapted technical literature, and recommended product redesigns and warnings.  Presented findings to CPSC Commissioners, manufacturers, trade associations, and standards-writing groups.  Findings formed the basis for recalls, bans, mandatory and voluntary safety standards, public information, and no action determinations.  Authored reports on diverse product hazards.  Received 10 awards for Human Factors technical assessments.

1976 Bachelor of Arts, Psychology and Sociology
Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia
3 Academic Honor Societies

HUMAN  FACTORS ANALYSES - PRODUCT HAZARDS

Analyses are of three types:

“Case” - refers to either expert witness or consulting expert work on specific cases.
“CPSC” - refers to an analysis performed while at CPSC, usually including analyzing
Injury data on multiple incidents to identify hazard patterns, evaluating product designs and safety labels, evaluating safety standards, and recommending ways to reduce hazards.
“Manufacturer” - refers to guidance provided to manufacturers.

The following product hazards refer to consulting on specific cases, unless otherwise marked  ( ).

Appliances

Automatic garage door - entrapment/strangulation (case, CPSC)
C.B. base station antenna - electrocution (CPSC)
Deep fat fryer – burn
Gas water heater - CO poisoning
Portable electric heater - fire (CPSC)
Range - tip over/burn – (manufacturer, case)
Room air conditioner - fire, fall

Furniture

Bunk bed - head entrapment/strangulations, falls (cases, CPSC)
Chest - tip overs, entrapment/strangulation
Day bed - entrapment/strangulation
Hospital bed rail and air mattress – entrapment/strangulation
Recliner chair - head entrapment/strangulation
Water bed - strangulation/suffocation (case, CPSC)

Household Items

Battery - overheating, leaking (manufacturer)
Child resistant closures on medicines/chemicals - poisoning (CPSC, manufacturer, cases)
Cigarette lighter - flare up/burns
Clothing - burn, drawstring (CPSC, case)
CO detector - control display design ( manufacturer)
Drapery and blind cords - entanglement/strangulation (cases, manufacturer)
Five gallon bucket – drowning
Fondue pot – burn
Food - choking (manufacturers, case)
Food container - suffocation, burns (manufacturers)
Gas can and caps - flammable, explosion, poisoning, child resistance (manufacturers)
Glue cap - choking
Kerosene container – burn
Kitchen implements (manufacturer)
Lamps and luminaries - miscellaneous hazards (trade association)
Office and school supplies - laceration, battery (manufacturers)
Smoke detector - control display design (manufacturer)
Sports water bottle cap - choking (manufacturer, distributor)
Vinyl/plastic film - suffocation (CPSC, case)

Industrial/Professional Equipment, Tools, and Miscellaneous

Brick hammer - projectile, blindness
Chemical protective clothing - chemical burn
Dental appliance - choking (manufacturer)
Electric power line - electrocution
Fence slat spacing -  escape, entrapment
Fifty-five gallon drum - explosion
Forklift control - confusion, crushing
Hair color - explosive chemical reaction (manufacturer)
Handicap scooter - tipover
Heat gun - fire
Industrial hand tool - blood-born pathogen (manufacturer)
Linseed oil stain - spontaneous combustion
Railroad train - amputation
Swinging gate - head entrapment/strangulation
Welding rod - poison (trade association)

Nursery/Juvenile Products

Baby enclosure - entrapment/strangulation (CPSC)
Baby gate - entrapment/strangulation (CPSC)
Baby walker - stair fall, tipover
Bassinet - suffocation
Bed rail - entrapment
Booster car seat - containment failure
Booster and youth feeding chair - fall, strangulation (manufacturers)
Bouncer seat - fall
Convertible child car seat - containment failure
Diaper changing table, storage – entrapment (manufacturer, cases)
Crib - catch point, entrapment, strangulation (cases, CPSC)
High chair - strangulation, falls (CPSC, cases)
Infant bean bag cushion - suffocation (CPSC)
Infant bedding - entanglement/strangulation (manufacturer)
Infant carrier seat - fall
Infant car seat - entanglement/strangulation
Infant swinging seat - strangulation
Light switch extender - entanglement/strangulation
Nursery decoration - entanglement/strangulation
Outlet safety plug - electrical burns
Pacifier - choking, entanglement, strangulation (CPSC)
Playpen/play yard - catch point, entrapment, strangulation (cases, CPSC)
Stroller - amputation, entrapment
Toy chest - strangulation (CPSC)
Tricycle - conspicuousness

Recreational Equipment

Baseball chest protector - impact (CPSC)
Bivy sack - suffocation
Camping propane equipment - carbon monoxide
Exercise equipment - strangulation
Golf cart - tipover
Ground water slide - laceration
Lawn dart - puncture wound (CPSC)
Playground equipment - entrapment, catch point, strangulation, fall, impact (cases, CPSC)
Soccer goal post - tip over/impact
Swimming pools, covers, slides - drowning, impact (cases, CPSC, manufacturer)

Toys

Ball - choking (CPSC, cases)
Crib toy, gym, mobile entanglement - catch point, strangulation (CPSC)
Manipulative toys - age determinations  (manufacturer)
Manipulative toys - choking, suffocation (manufacturer)
Miscellaneous infant toys (rattles, squeeze toys, teethers, etc.) - choking (cases, CPSC)
Miscellaneous preschool toys (small figures, etc.) - choking  (case, CPSC)
Miscellaneous older children’s toys (baton, etc..) - choking (cases, CPSC, distributor)
Projectile toy - blindness
Stuffed animal - pompon choking
Suction toy - eye injury (testing laboratory)
Tent - suffocation
Toddler gym house - entrapment, strangulation (CPSC)
Toy strings for neck - entanglement, strangulation, laceration (case, CPSC, distributor)

SAFETY  LABEL  DESIGN  AND  TESTING

Gas can - flammable, explosion, poison
Professional hair color - explosive chemical reaction
Industrial hand tool - blood-born pathogen
Propane cylinder - fire, explosion, and carbon monoxide
Air conditioner/extension cord - fire/electric shock, Patent # D393487
Plastic soda bottle cap - projectile
Ball, balloon, marble, toys for three, four, and five year olds - choking
International safety symbol comprehension testing - batteries, lamps and luminaries, electric shock, personal protection equipment, poison, corrosion, etc.

PRESENTATIONS  AND  PANELS

Available upon request

PUBLICATIONS  AND  TECHNICAL  REPORTS

Available upon request

PUBLICATIONS

Available upon request

KEYWORDS

engineering expert witness, human factors expert witness, psychologist expert witness, product design and label evaluations warnings expert witness, label warnings expert witness, instructions anthropology expert witness, product safety design expert witness, children’s hazards and child development expert witness, safety labels and instructions expert witness, workings of us consumer product safety commission expert witness, appreciation of risk (manufacturer vs. users) expert witness, workings of standards groups ASTM, ANSI expert witness; responsible for consumer safety specifications for: toy safety expert witness, playground equipment expert witness, bunk beds expert witness, chest tipovers expert witness, pool covers expert witness, cribs expert witness, high chairs expert witness, infant bedding expert witness, play yards expert witness, hook-on chairs expert witness, gates and enclosures expert witness, toddler beds expert witness, strollers expert witness, infant walkers expert witness, cigarette lighters expert witness; case example
APPLIANCES: automatic garage door entrapment/strangulation, c.b. base station antenna electrocution, gas hot water heater CO poisoning, portable electric heater fire, range tip over/burn expert witness
FURNITURE: bunk bed head entrapment/strangulations, falls, day bed entrapment/strangulation, dresser tip overs, entrapment/strangulation, recliner chair head entrapment/strangulation, water bed strangulation/suffocation expert witness
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS: child resistant closures on medicine bottle poisoning, cigarette lighter flare up, clothing burn, drawstring, CO detector control display design, drapery and blind cords, entanglement/strangulation, food choking, gas can - flammable, explosion, poison, glue cap choking, kerosene container burn, lighting miscellaneous hazards (trade association), smoke detector control display design, water bottle choking (manufacturer, distributor), vinyl/plastic film suffocation expert witness
INDUSTRIAL/PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, & MISC.: brick hammer projectile, blindness, chemical-protective clothing chemical burn, electric power line electric shock, fence slat spacing -  escape, entrapment, fifty-five gallon drum explosion, forklift control confusion, crushing, hair color explosion, heat gun fire, industrial hand tool blood-born pathogen hazard, linseed oil stain spontaneous combustion, railroad train amputation, swinging gate head entrapment/strangulation, welding rod poison expert witness
NURSERY/JUVENILE PRODUCTS: baby enclosure entrapment/strangulation, baby gate entrapment/strangulation, baby walker stair fall, bassinet suffocation, booster car seat containment failure, booster feeding seat fall, clothing string and hood entanglement, strangulation, convertible child car seat containment failure, crib catch point, entrapment, strangulation, high chair strangulation, falls, infant bean bag cushion suffocation, infant bedding entanglement/strangulation, infant carrier seat fall, infant car seat entanglement/strangulation, infant swinging seat strangulation, light switch extender entanglement/strangulation, nursery decoration entanglement/strangulation, outlet safety plug - electrical burns, pacifier choking, entanglement, strangulation, playpen/play yard catch point, entrapment, strangulation, stroller amputation, toy chest strangulation, tricycle conspicuousness expert witness
RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT: baseball chest protector impact, exercise equipment strangulation, golf cart tipover, ground water slide laceration, lawn dart puncture wound, playground equipment entrapment, catch point, strangulation, fall, impact, soccer goal post tip over/impact, swimming pools, covers, slides, drowning, impact expert witness
TOYS: ball choking, crib toy, gym, mobile entanglement, catch point, strangulation, lei laceration, manipulative toys, age determinations , manipulative toys, choking, suffocation, miscellaneous infant toys (rattles, squeeze toys, teethers, etc.) choking, miscellaneous preschool toys (small figures, etc.) choking, miscellaneous older children’s toys (baton, etc..) choking, projectile toy blindness, stuffed animal pompon choking, suction toy, eye injury testing laboratory, tent suffocation, toddler gym house entrapment, strangulation, strings on toys for neck, entanglement, strangulation expert witness

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