Products Liability Expert Witnesses & FEA

Courtroom FEA: Vol 1. FEA = Finite Element Analysis by Steve Roensch:

As a products liability expert witness, it is important that you know what Finite Element Analysis (FEA) can do for you. If you don’t, your adversary might. Whether you serve plaintiffs, defendants or both, you’re probably already familiar with FEA. Simply put, if a loss, injury or death is due to something bending or breaking, FEA can help explain the failure.

An experienced FEA expert witness can determine the stresses and displacements in the failed part. When compared to industry standards, earlier designs and competitive designs, this often identifies the cause of failure, and hence the responsible party. As in any field, your choice of an expert is important in making your case. It’s not unusual for an inexperienced FEA analyst to generate incorrect results; this is both a warning to the wise and a strategy for dealing with the other side’s expert. FEA results lend themselves to color plots and animations, making conveying the key concepts to the jury much easier.

Steve Roensch is a mechanical engineering consultant with more than 25 years of professional experience. He has analyzed hundreds of product designs and has served as an expert witness across many industries. The Courtroom FEA Newsletter discusses the use of Finite Element Analysis in the courtroom, and serves thousands of product liability and personal injury attorneys in 26 countries. Learn more about mechanical engineer expert witness services at www.FiniteElement.com.