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Professional Engineer
Expert Witness
Scalding Hot Water Injuries
Professional Engineer
Expert Witness
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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.
You can reach Harold Krongelb P.E. at 646.757.4511 or by emailing hkrongelb@heimer.com.
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. 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 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.
Trivial or 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 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.
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 our 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.
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 by emailing hkrongelb@heimer.com.
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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.
©1997-2018 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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