When a lawsuit is filed following an incident which occurred at work, attorneys must educate themselves on every aspect of that incident, including all the lead up to it as well as everything that follows. Sometimes that’s easier said than done, and both plaintiff attorneys as well as defendant attorneys find themselves in need of a subject matter expert to establish credibility. Oftentimes, they hire field experts to testify about the responsibility for safety and add an expert opinion regarding injury or incident causation as established by authorities such as OSHA.

The most important thing an expert witness will do is state his or her qualifications, training and education – this is the part where Safety Resources, Inc. excels. It is the role of our team to discuss what is technically and economically feasible in terms of protect and employee information.

Accident/Incident investigation and analysis is a means used to prevent future accidents by determining root cause. As such, the investigation or analysis must produce information leading to corrective actions to prevent or reduce the number of accidents in the workplace. Sometimes, when the investigation is complete, the situation has escalated and the needs to review all the field notes and dig deeper is at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

We understand that there are basic principles which any expert witness must remember as it relates to workplace safety case. A few of the principles we understand include:

• Safety begins with top management.
• Safety is proactive, and begins during the design phase.
• Proactive safety will always be more effective than reactive safety.
• Since most accidents are predictable, most controls can be anticipated and effective prior to an incident’s occurrence.
• Understanding responsibilities for safety is key to success.
• Unsafe acts and conditions are symptoms of incidents, not causes.

Safety Resources, Inc. combines the expertise and capabilities of our staff to provide expert witness services and testimony while understanding how important the situation is and how high the stakes have become for everyone involved.