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Slip, Trip, and Fall
Accidents in Parking Lots
Heimer Engineering℠
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Many accidents and resulting injuries occur because of parking lot defects. Among the services Heimer Engineering's Licensed Engineers perform are investigations and reports on slip, trip, and fall and other accidents caused by parking lot defects. Heimer Engineering's Licensed Engineers have investigated many parking lot slip, trip, and fall incidents at a wide variety of sites such as restaurants, parks, museums, office buildings, homes, apartment buildings, outside steps, sidewalks, playgrounds, and more. These locations are prone to defects such irregular stairs, improper handrails, unsafe curbs, poor or improper maintenance, improper design, improper construction, unsafe equipment, and improper repairs.
➜ Misleading Coefficient of Friction Measurements
Building codes are designed to protect the public. In addition, there are numerous standards published covering virtually all aspects of modern life. These standards also serve to protect the public.
In many cases, City of New York Codes or State of New York Building Codes are applicable. By including code references in the reports, it becomes obvious how the code violation contributed to the injury, and how following the applicable codes would have helped prevent the injury.
When performing parking lot slip, trip, and fall investigations, Our Engineers analyze the site and determines the cause of the slip, trip, and fall accident. If appropriate, photographs and measurements are taken to document the conditions at the site. It is then determined which codes and standards are applicable, and how conditions at the site violated the codes or standards.
After the research, a report is prepared describing the conditions at the site, the cause of the slip, trip, and fall and the code and reference standard violated. The reports are clearly written and help all parties understand how the accident caused the injury.
Building Codes and
Engineering Standards
It
is important to accurately determine which building codes (and other codes, regulations,
and standards) are applicable to a specific incident. When a building is constructed,
it is constructed under the codes, regulations, and standards are in force in the
municipality at the time of construction.
Heimer Engineering has
an Extensive Library of
Historical Building Codes
Codes, regulations, and standards change over time, and modifications are made to existing buildings and sites. It is important to examine the history of the building to determine what codes, standards, and regulations are applicable. The Engineer's report should be based on applicable codes, regulations, and standards.
The term "grandfathered" is often applied to existing construction. Saying a building is "grandfathered" is often inaccurate. The term "grandfathered" only applies to original and unaltered construction. "Grandfathering" requires that no changes were made without required permits and approvals. Once a change is made to a building, newer building codes, standards, and municipal regulations become applicable. For example, making a change to the interior of a building might require that exterior steps be brought up to modern codes.
Heimer Engineering has an extensive library of searchable historical building codes, dating back 90 years for The State of New York and over 140 years for The City of New York. We also have electronic access to hundreds of current state, town, and village codes.
Just because a building
complied with the applicable
codes at the time
it was
constructed does not mean that
hazardous defects are permitted.
Even if the building or site is unaltered, it may not have complied
with the codes, standards, and regulations in effect at the time the building was
constructed. Many older codes, standards, and regulations are not as clearly written
as their more modern counterparts.
The Engineer needs to consider both the wording and the correct application of the code, standard, or regulation. In addition, the injury may have been caused by faulty maintenance, which is covered under modern codes.
Just because a building complied with the applicable codes at the time it was constructed does not mean hazardous defects are permitted. Failing to maintain a building or site in a safe condition is never "grandfathered".
Proximate Cause
Proximate cause is often defined as the immediate or closest cause.
When examining a site or building where a personal injury accident occurred, it
is important to determine the proximate cause of the accident.
We have seen many reports where defects were cited, but are irrelevant to the accident that caused the injury. For example, if a client fell at the top of a set of steps, defects near the bottom of the steps are irrelevant.
Unfortunately, there are many experts who look to find any defect and never determine if it is the proximate cause of the accident. Heimer Engineering only includes relevant facts in the reports. Engineering reports that include irrelevant code violations may look good, but these reports can be defeated in summary judgment because the cited defects are irrelevant to the incident.
De Minimis Defects
De minimis means too trivial or unimportant to be considered. A
de minimis defect is a defect that a defendant is arguing is too small to be considered
as the cause of the accident and injury.
Who decides if a defect is de minimis? Is it decided by the Attorneys, the law, or the Engineer? Engineers need to take into account whether a defect is de minimis in determining the proximate cause of an accident and subsequent injury. It a Professional Engineer determines that a defect is the proximate cause of an injury, then it is axiomatic that the defect is not de minimis.
Foreseeable Incidents and Reasonable Care
The cause of injury is often the defendant's failure to use reasonable care in the maintenance or repair of a building. Engineers need to look at the site conditions, and determine if the owners created a hazard by failing to use reasonable care. It is also important to determine if it is foreseeable that the condition could cause an injury.
"Old School" Engineers
After World War II, Engineering moved from war-related work
to developing products for consumers and of national interest (such as the space
program). There were few universally accepted standards other than building codes
and mechanical standards (for example, screw sizes or wire sizes). Many Engineers
who graduated before the mid-1970s were used to creating their own standards, and
possibly changing these standards from project to project. These "Old School" Engineers
worked according to rules and standards created on an as-needed basis.
Although organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) began developing standards after World War I, many of these standards did not aquire the force of law until the 1960s when were incorporated into Building Codes. In addition, organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set and enforced standards. At the same time, organizations such as ANSI and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) set standards that were universally followed.
Some of the "Old School" Engineers retired from their full-time employment and went on to be consulting Engineers. The problem is that they continued to analyze the way they worked in the past. These Engineers approached accident investigations the same way they had worked their whole life. The result was reports that reflected the Engineer's standards or the Engineer's interpretation of Building Codes without regard to the realities of how the Department of Buildings interprets codes or accepted practices.
An example of the difference between old self-created standards universally accepted standards can be seen in the change in automobile safety in the last 50 years. In the late 1950s, automobile manufacturers began to talk about how safe their cars were. The standards for safety were set by automobile manufacturers. General Motors stated their cars had a "safety X-frame" in advertising. People bought these "safe" cars.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a video in 2009 that showed a frontal offset collision between a 1959 Chevrolet Impala and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Analysis after the collision showed that the driver of the 1959 Impala would have died instantly, and the driver of the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu might have sustained a knee injury.
Collision
between a 1959 Chevrolet Impala and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu
This video illustrates the difference between self-defined standards and universally developed and accepted standards. By the self-defined standards of 1959, the Impala was "safe". By today's universally accepted standards, the 1959 Impala offers little safety.
When choosing a Professional Engineer, be careful of Engineers who define their own standards. While they may sound good, they will hold up no better under cross-examination based on today's standards than the 1959 Chevrolet Impala held up against the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu.
Engineer Experts or Hired Guns?
Some expert witnesses are "hired guns". These experts provide a report in favor of their client regardless of the facts. Heimer Engineering's Engineers never exaggerate or embellish their findings. If there is no defect, that is what we report. There are Attorneys who will never use Heimer Engineering's services because we do not embellish the reports in favor of their clients.
Heimer Engineering never
exaggerates or embellishes
findings
Some experts do whatever the Attorney asks them to do, and never
bother to evaluate the situation. Heimer Engineering evaluates the information provided
and advises, based on Engineering experience, as to what defects exist and the cause
of the accident. As an Attorney, you will be provided our professional opinion so
that you know how to proceed with the litigation.
Embellishing a report or relying on a code reference that is not applicable sometimes works if the insurance company settles based on an exaggerated report. In other cases, the expert's statements in the inaccurate embellished report cannot stand up to summary judgment or under cross-examination in a Court of Law. With Heimer Engineering, you can be sure you are receiving a professional opinion based on the facts as provided to the Engineer. Heimer Engineering will be able to defend the Engineer's report under cross examination.
Heimer Engineering never
provides reports
based on
codes that are not applicable
Accident or Incident
Accident has no clear meaning. An accident could be an injury caused
by a property owner's negligence. An accident could be a mistake by the injured
party. An accident could be caused by a contractor's negligence. There are many
potential caused of an accident.
Heimer Engineering's Professional Engineers evaluate incidents. Someone is injured, and that is the incident. It is only after the incident is evaluated that negligence can be established.
When an incident is evaluated, there is no pre-conceived notion of who is negligent. The incident is evaluated from an unbiased point of view, including the application of Engineering principles. Only after all the facts related to the incident are determined can negligence and blame be determined.
Expert Witness Court Testimony
by
Professional Engineers
Clearly written reports help make it clear how defects at a site
contributed to an accident and injury. Clearly written accurate reports can help
you settle a case and avoid the time and expense of a trial.
If the case has to be litigated in a court of law, Heimer Engineering's Professional Engineers serve as expert witnesses, and have qualified as expert witnesses in United States Federal Courts and at all levels of State of New York Courts.
For questions regarding Professional Engineer expert witness services, call 631.820.4500.
Professional
Engineer Expert Witness Services
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To set up an appointment for a pre-purchase inspection, or to find out about Engineering services or expert court testimony send Heimer Engineering℠ an email, send a text to 888.769.6910, call 646.757.4500, or call 800.605.1500. If no staff member is in the office, leave a message.
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Heimer Engineering PC f/k/a Richard L Heimer PE PC2171 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 230
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