Professional Engineer
Expert Witness
Scalding Hot Water Injuries
Professional Engineer Expert Witness
Serving Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Putnam, and Westchester
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In keeping with
Governor Cuomo's announcements, Heimer Engineering℠ has stopped performing
home inspections.
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Repair resources are directed to essential services.
Professional Engineers can determine the cause(s) of scalding hot water burns. A Professional Engineer can also determine which Codes and Standards are violated, whether the hazard was created by the owner, whether a burn injury is foreseeable, etc. The Professional Engineer can serve as an expert witness if necessary.
People, especially young children, elderly people, and people with disabilities, are susceptible to serious, life-changing injuries caused by scalding hot water. Depending on what standard is applied, domestic hot water should be between 110 degrees Fahrenheit and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
The lower the hot water temperature, the more quickly the hot water is used up. Some building owners and maintenance personnel raise the domestic hot water temperature as high as 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot water at 180 degrees Fahrenheit can cause a serious burn more quickly than a person can withdraw from the hot water.
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 accident and injury.
When performing scalding hot water investigations Harold Krongelb P.E. analyzes the hot water system and determines the cause of resulting injury. If appropriate, photographs and measurements are taken. It is then determined which codes and standards are applicable, and how conditions violated the codes or standards.
After the research, a report is prepared describing the conditions and the code and reference standards violated. The reports are clearly written and help all parties understand the cause of the accident and injury.
Harold Krongelb P.E.
Harold
Krongelb P.E. performs all Engineering inspections where litigation or arbitration
is being considered. Harold Krongelb P.E. is a State of New York Licensed Engineer
with extensive experience in the preparation of reports, preparation of affidavits
for summary judgment and other court motions, along with testimony experience.
Harold Krongelb P.E. has experience with slip, trip, and fall incidents, playground incidents, injuries caused by falling ceilings, injuries caused by other building defects, injuries caused by sports equipment, injuries caused by scalding hot water, analysis of the dynamics of vehicle accidents, and other Engineering-related analysis, reports, and testimony. Harold Krongelb P.E. also has experience with Building Codes, Engineering analysis when only photographs and depositions are available, assessment based on historical codes and images, computer systems, and other areas of Engineering.
To contact Harold Krongelb P.E.:
- Call 646.757.4511
- Email hkrongelb@heimer.com
Proximate or Substantial Cause
Proximate cause is often defined as the immediate or closest cause. Substantial cause can be defined as being a significant factor or contributing significantly to an injury. When examining a site or building where a personal injury accident occurred, it is important to determine the proximate or substantial cause of the accident. Some Engineers cite irrelevant deficiencies as the cause of an incident. For example, if a client fell at the top of a set of steps, hazards near the bottom of the steps are irrelevant.
There are many experts who look to find any defect or hazard and never determine if it is the proximate or substantial cause of the accident. We only include relevant defects, hazards, and codes in the reports. Engineering reports that include irrelevant information may look good, but these reports can be defeated in summary judgment.
The Laws of Physics
Do Not Change
A Professional Engineer's report or affidavit needs to reflect the Engineer's professional opinion based on well-accepted scientific, engineering, and mathematical principles. If that does not agree with your case, revisit your case. The laws of physics do not change because of your client's testimony. This is a critical point when writing a report or an affidavit.
Conditions Changed?
No Problem
About
40% of the personal injury consultations are regarding hazards and defects that
no longer exist. Another 45% of the personal injury consultations are regarding
conditions that are either transient or have had some changes even though the hazard
or defect has not been corrected. In only 15% of the personal injury consultations
are the conditions unchanged.
In about 50% of the personal injury consultations, we are denied access to the premises without multiple court orders, are provided with deliberately restricted access to hinder the site examination, are prohibited from taking photographs or images to hinder the site examination, or the defendant significantly delays the site access to the point where a report needs to be issued without a site examination.
A majority of the personal injury consultations must rely (at least in part) on photographic images. As long as the photographic images fairly and accurately represent the site as it existed at the time of the incident, a Professional Engineer's report detailing hazards and code violations can be created.
Professional Fees
You
will be quoted a fixed fee based on the information that you provide. There is no
extra fee for answering your questions on the phone or for signing an affidavit
that states a Professional Engineer prepared the report. If you request an increase
in the scope of the consultation, a basis for the additional fees is always discussed
before any Engineering work is performed. You know the expected fee for the professional
services when work is started.
Professional Engineers are prohibited from working on a contingency basis. Professional Engineers are prohibited from engaging in fee-splitting, which means no referral fees are ever paid.
Trivial 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 defect or hazard by failing to use reasonable care. It is also important to determine if it is foreseeable that the condition could cause an injury.
Engineers and Medicine
Professional
Engineers are not Physicians and cannot provide a
medical diagnosis or medical advice. However, it is important for Professional Engineers
performing personal injury consultations to have a basic understanding of mechanism
of injury, how a human responds in different situations, how different medical conditions
are treated, etc. Often it is necessary to read parts of medical papers to understand
the connection between an injury and a hazardous condition.
Professional Engineers are not Medical Doctors, and are not providing medical opinions on the treatment of an injury.; However, a Professional Engineer will obtain all relevant information, including medical information, to provide a professional opinion as to the cause of a personal injury.
Engineer Experts or Hired Guns?
Some
expert witnesses are "hired guns". These expert witnesses provide a report in favor
of their client regardless of the facts or reality. We never exaggerate or embellish
findings. If there is no defect, that is what you are told. There are Attorneys
who will never use us because we do not embellish
the reports in favor of their clients.
Embellishing a report or relying on a code reference that is not applicable may work if the insurance company settles based on an inaccurate report. In other cases, the expert's statements in the inaccurate report cannot stand up to summary judgment or under cross-examination in a Court of Law. We provide a professional opinion based on the reality that will hold up to summary judgment or under cross-examination.
Words are Important
It
is important to know what not to say and how to phrase findings. Judges typically
do not accept medical, psychological, legal, financial, etc. professional opinions
from Engineers. Yet some Engineer routinely provide these opinions in their reports.
These non-Engineering opinions often do not hold up under summary judgment.
It is important not to make statements that might be interpreted (or perhaps misinterpreted) as being a non-Engineering statement. Even an otherwise well written report can be thrown out in summary judgment if an otherwise accurate statement is misinterpreted.
Everything in the reports is designed to stand up to summary judgment and under cross-examination during trial. This has been tested during many court trials and summary judgment decisions.
"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 created their own standards, possibly changing these standards from project
to project.
Although organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) began developing standards after World War I, many of these standards did not acquire the force of law or become well accepted practices until the 1960s. In addition, organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set and enforced standards. Organizations such as ANSI and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) set standards that may not have the force of law, but are universally followed.
Some "Old School" Engineers retired from full-time employment to become consulting Engineers. These "Old School" Engineers approached accident investigations the same way they had worked their whole life. The result was reports that reflected the "Old School" 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 good and accepted practices.
An example of the difference between old self-created standards and newer standards can be seen in the change in automobile safety in the last 50 years. In the late 1950s, automobile manufacturers advertised how safe their cars were. The standards for safety were set by automobile manufacturers. In the late 1950s, General Motors stated their cars had a "safety X-frame" in advertising.
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.
1959 and a 2009 Chevrolet Impala Collision
This video illustrates the difference between self-created standards and well developed and accepted standards. By the self-created standards of 1959, the Impala was "safe". By today's standards, the 1959 Impala offers little passenger protection.
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.
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.
We evaluate incidents. Someone is injured, and that is the incident. It is only after the incident is evaluated that the cause and negligence can be established.
When an incident is evaluated, there is no pre-conceived notion of who is negligent or how the defect or hazard was created. 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.
Sidewalks, Stairways, Paths, and
Means of Egress
A trip and fall on a public sidewalk is different than a trip and fall on a stairway, ramp, or other required means of egress. The standards and applicable codes are often different. Sidewalks by their nature have some irregularities and pedestrians need to exercise reasonable caution. A concrete path that is part of a required means of egress may be held to a higher standard. A Professional Engineer can determine which codes and standards are applicable.
Building Codes and
Engineering Standards
It is important to determine which building 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 at the time of construction. Heimer Engineering has an Extensive Library of Historical Building Codes, Heimer Engineering's searchable Building Code library includes:
City of New York Codes
-
1877
City of New York Building Code - 1892 City of New York Building Code
- 1899 City of New York Building Code
- 1900 City of New York Building Code
- 1901 City of New York Building Code
- 1906 City of New York Building Code
- 1916 City of New York Building Code
- 1938 City of New York Building Code
- 1968 City of New York Building Code
- 2008 City of New York Building Code
- 2014 City of New York Building Code
State of New York Building Codes
- 1951 State of New York Building Code
- 1954 State of New York Building Code
- 1959 State of New York Building Code
- 1964 State of New York Building Code
- 1972 State of New York Building Code
- 1977 State of New York Building Code
- 1978 State of New York Building Code
- 1984 State of New York Building Code
- 2004 State of New York Building Code
- 2008 State of New York Building Code
Other Codes
- 1938 FHA Construction Standards
- 1915 Fire Underwriters Model Code
- State of New York Multiple Dwelling Law
- State of New York Tenement Law
- State of New York Department of Transportation Standards (roads, signs, traffic signals, etc.)
- Federal Transportation Standards (roads, signs, traffic signals, etc.)
- City of New York sidewalk regulations
- Electrical Codes
Most important is knowing which codes apply to which locations. If irrelevant codes are cited, the Professional Engineer's report is of little use.
Codes, regulations, and standards change over time and modifications are made to existing buildings and sites. It is important to examine available history of the building to determine what codes, standards, and regulations are applicable.
The
term "grandfathered" is often applied to existing construction. Saying a building
is "grandfathered" is often inaccurate. "Grandfathered" only applies to original
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. 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 may be a violation under current 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".
Expert Witness Court Testimony
by
Professional Engineer
Harold Krongelb P.E.
Clearly
written reports help make it clear how defects and hazards 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, Harold Krongelb P.E. has served as expert witness and has qualified as and expert witness in United States Federal Courts and at all levels of State of New York Courts.
For questions regarding Professional Engineer expert witness services, call Harold Krongelb P.E. at 646.757.4511 or email hkrongelb@heimer.com.
Professional Engineer Expert Witness
Contact Heimer Engineering℠
Performing Home Inspections at this time risks spreading COVID-19 and places people at risk. Heimer Engineering will not be performing pre-purchase Home Inspections until it can do so without risk to the public.
Heimer Engineering℠ has stopped performing home inspections in accordance with Governor Cuomo's order. We cannot provide any information as to when home inspections will resume and cannot provide fee information.
Clients with questions and Attorneys with personal injury questions can email PE@heimer.com.
Heimer Engineering℠ serves the Greater New York area, including New York City (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island), Long Island (Nassau County, Suffolk County, and Upstate New York (Rockland County, Putnam County, and Westchester County).
Heimer Engineering℠ respects your privacy. Some home inspection firms share information with insurance, landscaping, home maintenance, moving, cable, mortgage, and other companies. You will not receive phone calls or solicitation emails from third parties as a result of providing Heimer Engineering℠ with personal information. For more information, see Heimer Engineering's℠ Privacy Policy.
🚑 🚒 🚓 In the event of a life-threatening emergency call 911. Emergency situations need to be handled by first-responders who can evacuate buildings, shut utilities off, and take other steps necessary to preserve life.
Standards of Practice
and Code of Ethics
Heimer Engineering's℠ Professional Engineer Home Inspectors substantially adhere to the InterNACHI® Code of Ethics, to Subpart 197-4 of the State of New York Code of Ethics and Regulations for Home Inspectors, the ASHI® Standards of Practice, and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE®) Code of Ethics. In the event of a conflict, the Professional Engineer Home Inspectors use Engineering judgment to decide what standard or Engineering principle takes precedence. All State of New York Licensed Professional Engineers are bound by New York State Education Law Article 145.
Discounts
💲 Ask about a web discount. Discounts are also available for referrals (attorney, real estate broker, mortgage broker, co-worker, friend) first time buyers, senior citizens, military (army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard), first responders (police, ambulance, fire), municipal employees, security personnel, and union members.
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Performing Home Inspections at this time risks spreading COVID-19 and places people at risk. Heimer Engineering will not be performing pre-purchase Home Inspections until it can do so without risk to the public.
Inspections are performed only after the client signs a Pre-Inspection Agreement. Use of this website is governed by our Terms of Use. This website is made available for informational purposes and does not represent a professional opinion of your situation.
Heimer Engineering PC℠ performs home inspections, building inspections, condo inspections, and co-op inspections in the State of New York. Expert witness services are provided regarding playground injuries, parking lot, walkway, and stairway slip, trip, and fall.
The Heimer Engineering PC℠ website was designed and is maintained by Harold Krongelb PE. The contents of this website were written by Harold Krongelb PE. This website is not intended to offer Engineering opinions or advice. Sitemaps and indexing information can be found at Page Sitemap, Image Sitemap, Mobile Sitemap, and Video Sitemap.
To protect an individual's privacy, images of people used on this site are either licensed stock images or used with permission. The images of the clients who emailed compliments to Heimer Engineering℠ are not of the actual client.
Heimer Engineering℠ Return Policy
©1997-2020 Andrea and Harold Krongelb. All rights reserved. Used under a revocable license by Heimer Engineering PC. All documents and methods used by Heimer Engineering PC are owned by Harold and Andrea Krongelb and are used under a revocable license.
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Commack, New York, USA 11725-0942