Case Vignettes

Door Closer Mechanism 

A woman was injured while entering a retail store on a very windy day.  She claimed that the wind caught the door, rapidly swinging it open and closed, striking her as she tried to enter the shop.  She sustained hip injuries, which she attributed to the fall, and sued the store on the grounds that the door closer mechanism was improper for the application and did not function correctly.  EMTEC engineers researched door closer mechanisms, inspected the premises, and tested the door and closer.  They found that the mechanism was adequate for the application, that it operated reasonably, and that it complied with applicable codes and standards, leading to a favorable settlement for the defendant.

Discount Store Slip and Fall

A woman shopping in a discount store was injured in a fall.  She claimed that she slipped on fertilizer on the floor that had spilled from a torn bag.  EMTEC engineers investigated the incident, including performing slip testing on a sample of flooring material from the store.  The EMTEC engineers found that the store had known about problems with fertilizer spilling on the floor from merchandise displays in the past, and hadn't modified its maintenance or safety procedures to ensure that the floor was safe for customers and employees.  In reviewing the store's response to the incident, EMTEC engineers helped determine that the store tried to cover up the presence of the fertilizer on the floor.  The jury found for the plaintiff with a large award.

Hotel Sprinkler System Failure 

A pipe in a hotel's fire suppression system burst, flooding rooms and causing property damage.  The pipe was located in an uninsulated architectural feature of the building above a wing of rooms.  Rocky Mountain EMTEC examined the pipe, determining that the cause of failure was rupture due to freezing.  As part of the investigation, EMTEC engineers concluded that parts of the sprinkler system were improperly installed, and a test performed by a service company may have contributed to the failure.  The case ended in settlement before trial.

Food Contamination Analysis 

A food manufacturing line was shut down when foreign material, including glass, was found in salt used to make cheese.  When additional contaminants were found in the entire large shipment of salt, it was rejected by the purchaser, and a lawsuit was filed.  Working with another consulting engineer to form a multi-disciplinary expert team, Rocky Mountain EMTEC documented, characterized, and analyzed the various contaminants to show that they violated food purity standards and to provide a baseline to help determine their source by comparing the contaminants to samples that would have been obtained from the supplier's facility, had the supplier not agreed to credit the value of the shipment.

Gas Regulator Failure

A small gas utility located the meter and regulator set for a house in a mature grove of trees.  During a spring storm, a branch from one of the trees broke off, breaking a part of the regulator as it fell to the ground.  With the regulator unable to perform correctly, high pressure gas flowed into the residence.  Two people were killed and several others injured when the gas ignited, causing an explosion in the house.  Rocky Mountain EMTEC engineers worked on two fronts for the plaintiffs in this case:  1) performing a failure analysis on the regulator, confirming that the broken branch caused the damage, and confirming that the damage let high pressure gas flowed through the regulator to the house; and 2) performing a safety and liability analysis of both the utility and the regulator manufacturer, showing that the utility failed to exercise its standard of care in how it located and maintained the meter and regulator set, and showing that the design of the regulator was defective.  The case resulted in a favorable settlement for the plaintiffs.

Grocery Store Trip Analysis

An elderly woman fell while shopping in a grocery store that was undergoing remodeling.  She caught her heel on the lip between finished and unfinished floor sections while stepping backward to look at an overhead store directory sign.  The grocery store and its remodeling contractors claimed that the woman tripped because she wasn't watching her step.  Working for the plaintiff, Rocky Mountain EMTEC engineers reviewed photographs and discovery materials in evaluating the actions of the shopper and of the defendants in determining where responsibility for the incident lay.  The plaintiff received a favorable settlement before trial.

Dye Stamp Restoration

A local company noticed that products from one its competitors looked suspiciously like its own products.  The parts had been manufactured by forging before the local company changed to a casting process.  Samples of the competitor's products looked identical to the local company's older forged products, but with the competitor's name stamped into them.  The forging dies used to make the products were owned by the local company, but stored for use at a sub-contractor forging house.  When the local company asked for its dies back, they had been modified without the owner's consent to remove the owner's company name.  Using chemical etching techniques, EMTEC engineers found clear evidence that the competitor's name had been stamped into the dies, but was ground off before the dies were shipped back to the owner.  With this evidence, the owner filed a claim against the forging house for the value of the dies.

Drill Rig Hinge Pin Failure

A part of a mobile well-drilling rig failed, causing damage to the truck and rig.  The part that broke was a hinge pin that allows the drill rig derrick to travel horizontally, and be elevated to the upright position for operation.  The rig's owner claimed that the failure was caused by defective welding and sued the manufacturer.  EMTEC engineers found evidence that the hinge pin hadn't been adequately maintained, causing the pin to bind in its sleeve, which caused the weld in question to break.  Furthermore, EMTEC engineers concluded that the weld had been broken for a long time before derrick dropped, and that it would have been obvious if the rig was inspected before use.  Documents produced late in discovery confirmed that it had been broken for some seven months before the incident, and the case settled quickly thereafter.

Sewer Construction Failure

A construction company was installing replacement sewer lines using an underground construction technique.  Shortly after the project was completed, a water main adjacent to the sewer line broke, cutting off water to several nearby hotels and restaurants.  Some of the hotels and restaurants filed insurance claims against the constructor.  Rocky Mountain EMTEC was retained by the constructor's insurance company attorneys to evaluate the case to determine if the failure could be attributed to the constructor.  The preliminary investigation performed by EMTEC engineers found that the water main break was likely the fault of the constructor's practices.  The insurance company paid the valid claims, saving the expense and risk of trial.