Falling Forklift: H+A Analysis Contributes to Plaintiff Award of $4.5 Million

Photo of forklift during H+A site inspection.

In September 2015, a 54-year-old male was severely injured while operating a forklift to load a semi-truck from a loading dock. As he was doing so, the driver of the truck pulled away unexpectedly, causing him and his forklift to fall to the concrete below. Because of his low back injuries, his inability to enjoy activities of daily living and hobbies, and to work, the Plaintiff brought suit against the driver and the trucking company.

Wilson C. “Toby” Hayes, Ph.D., of Hayes + Associates, Inc., was retained by Attorney Lance Northcutt of Goldberg, Weisman & Cairo (https://www.gwclaw.com/), to determine if the impact forces transmitted to the Plaintiff’s low back from the forklift hitting the concrete was sufficient to cause acute injury or exacerbation of the Plaintiff’s degenerative spinal conditions.

In the analysis, H+A used fundamental physics and what is known about injury thresholds for the lumbar spine to show that negligent operation of the truck caused the Plaintiff’s injuries.

The case settled in favor of the Plaintiff – awarding $4.5 million dollars for damages and losses.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

$36 Million Awarded to Paralyzed Man: H+A Helps Show Manufacturing Defect in 2001 Nissan Xterra Responsible for Injuries

Mr. Aguirre’s vehicle became trapped underneath the 53-foot long trailer.

Manufacturer defects imply a design failure, or a lack of quality control testing in production, and can put consumers at risk for serious injury. Because of such failures on the part of the manufacturer, the lives of victims affected by these defects can change in an instant. In August of 2012, Jose Aguirre, 28, was driving his 2001 Nissan Xterra across a parking lot at work – a large-scale nursery, when he sustained injuries that left him paralyzed and wheelchair bound, needing 24-hour assistance for activities of daily living.

The incident began when Aguirre’s vehicle unexpectedly accelerated to 30-35mph, hit a concrete ramp, launched into the air, and was wedged underneath the side of a 53-foot long trailer parked on the opposite side of the ramp. The impact crushed the Xterra’s engine back toward the driver, trapping Mr. Aguirre in the vehicle. After the crash, investigators found the accelerator pedal arm had become trapped under the parking brake bracket. The manufacturer, noting that Aguirre had failed to change course or brake, claimed that he had fallen asleep at the wheel, and was therefore responsible for his resulting life-altering paralysis.

Hayes + Associates was retained by Attorney Roger Dreyer of Dreyer, Babich, Buccola, Wood and Campora (www.dbbwc.com) to help determine if Aguirre’s catastrophic injuries were caused by a defect with the accelerator pedal, or by his falling asleep.

At trial, H+A founder, Wilson C. “Toby” Hayes, Ph.D., testified that Mr. Aguirre did not fall asleep at the wheel, as the Defendant claimed, since, in the absence of a defect, the vehicle would have slowed down from relaxation of his leg muscles. Dr. Hayes, instead, testified that Mr. Aguirre’s failure to respond to the stuck pedal was explained by well-known delays, or even a kind of paralysis in perception response time that sometimes occurs in life threatening situations. At the end of trial, the Court found that the pedal arm defect and the manufacturer’s failure to properly design and test this model of the Nissan Xterra was responsible for Mr. Aguirre’s paralysis and loss of quality of life.

The Court returned a plaintiff verdict, awarding Mr. Aguirre $36 million.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

H+A Analysis Contributes to $30.9 Million Award to Woman Severely Injured by High Performance, High Capacity Speedboat

Simulation of Ms. Bell’s movement toward the propeller of the MasterCraft X-45 speedboat.

Manufacturers can be held liable for serious or fatal injuries to consumers, when they fail to perform safety tests or to notify consumers about the risks of using their products.

In July of 2006, eighteen passengers, including Nicholette Bell, 22, were spending the day wakeboarding from a 24-foot MasterCraft X-45 boat billed as a hybrid, high performance, high capacity watercraft – a speedboat able to hold up to 18 passengers. When a member of the group fell from his wakeboard, the driver slowed the boat from 25mph. As the boat slowed and turned, water flooded the bow, due to the weight of the passengers positioned in the front compartments. As the boat righted itself and the water rushed out from the stern, a number of passengers were swept overboard.

The driver of the boat described seeing Nicholette Bell in the water. She was face down, bleeding, and unconscious. Ms. Bell had been hit in the head by the propeller three times, suffering multiple skull fractures, a broken jaw and nose, severe facial injuries, and lacerations. She sustained a traumatic brain injury, suffers from aphasia, lost her sense of smell, and is blind in her left eye. She did not remember the events that transformed her life from being an active college student, to a young woman needing constant care.

Hayes+ Associates was retained by attorneys Roger Dreyer and Robert Bale of Dreyer, Babich, Buccola, Wood & Campora (https://www.dbbwc.com/) to reconstruct and analyze the incident using a series of rapid-shot photographs taken by one passenger on the boat and testimony from other occupants of the boat.

At trial, Wilson C. “Toby” Hayes, Ph.D., founder of H+A, explained that because of the faulty design of the MasterCraft X-45 – in particular, related to the manufacturer’s claims that it could be both a high performance and a high capacity boat – passengers were unreasonably and foreseeably put at risk for the chain of events that directly caused Nicholette’s devastating injuries.

The jury found in favor of the Plaintiff and awarded Ms. Bell $30.9 million. MasterCraft appealed, but later, settled without admitting fault.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

H+A Police Baton Impact Test: Salem, OR Defendant Found Not Guilty of Assault Charges

Dr. Toby Hayes performs a police baton impact test to the head of a dummy.

On July 22, 2020, a 20-year old criminal defendant on trial in Marion County accused of Assault II (mandatory sentence of 7+ years) and Burglary I (potential sentence of 20 years) was found not guilty on all four charges that he faced, allowing him to walk free after spending 6 months in jail.

The charges stemmed from an altercation with three individuals who described the Defendant using a 2-foot, thin, black object that “looked like a police baton.” The object was never found. One of the residents sustained a 2 cm laceration over the eye and two cuts to the hand.

Wilson C. “Toby” Hayes, Ph.D., founder of Hayes+Associates, Inc., was called as first witness by Defense Attorney David T. Wallace of Salem, OR (www.saleminjury.com). Hayes described a series of experiments that he and engineer, Alex Mikes, had conducted, that clearly demonstrated that a strike from a police baton (see short video above) can create forces well in excess of 1100 lbs. Such forces would be expected to cause severe, localized fractures over the eye, rather than the minor laceration and bruising that actually occurred.

In dramatic testimony, based on an analysis of one of the police body-cam videos by H+A former Associate, Jeremy Bauer, Ph.D. (www.bauerforensics.com), Hayes showed the jury a picture of a knife found at the scene. In an enlargement, Hayes pointed out the presence of a red substance that he characterized as blood.

Hayes told the jury that the Defendant had not used a dangerous weapon like a baton, since it would have caused a fracture, though no fracture occurred. Instead, he said the laceration over the eye was caused by a punch. He also testified that the cuts on the hand were not caused by an object like a baton, but instead by the knife belonging to the residents and found at the scene.

After closing arguments by David Wallace and an hour-long deliberation, the jury returned a not guilty verdict on all four counts thereby allowing the Defendant to be released.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

Charges Against Injured Inmate Dropped: H+A Analysis Shows Correctional Officers Caused Fracture

The inmate’s injury was caused by the excessive force applied by the officers, in combination with the torque produced by using the forearm as a lever.

In June of 2017, an inmate at the Multnomah County Detention Center was charged with five counts of assault of a Federal Officer as a result of interactions with two deputy correctional officers. The inmate was evaluated by paramedics and transported to the hospital for injuries sustained during the events, including a broken arm. Because the incident involved federal officers, the inmate faced five counts of impeding a federal officer, two of which carried a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The inmate and the correctional officers reported conflicting accounts of the incident. The inmate stated that he believed his arm was broken while in a cell in the solitary disciplinary unit, when deputy officers forcefully pushed him to the ground and painfully twisted his arm behind his back. The deputies indicated that they were instead, attempting to handcuff the inmate in the general population cellblock, in advance of leading him to the solitary disciplinary unit, and that while they heard a popping sound, there was no indication of injury.

Hayes + Associates was retained by Portland criminal defense Attorney Tiffany A. Harris, on behalf of the inmate defendant, to perform a biomechanical analysis of the mechanism of injury, and opine on which of the two scenarios fit with the facts of the case and the fracture the inmate suffered.

H+A analysis concluded that the inmate’s injuries were not sustained in the general population cell, but in the solitary disciplinary unit, when the two correctional officers threw him down to the mattress on the floor, then twisted his arm behind his back, and pinned his elbow and pulled on his hand toward the ceiling, with sufficient force to create the twisting fracture shown above. The humeral fracture that resulted was consistent with fractures produced in automobile collisions and high impact sports. In this instance, injury was caused by the excessive force applied by the officers, in combination with the torque produced by using the forearm as a lever.

Following the H+A report, the charges against for impeding federal officers were dropped, and the government recommended the inmate be granted “time served” — a reduction in his sentence.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.