Defective Crib Design Suffocates Child

Case Overview

This case involves a 14-month old child injured by the support bars in his crib, which collapsed and suffocated him. The child was playing in his crib when the support bars collapsed, entrapped his head, which caused the child to suffocate. This left the child with significant injuries.

Questions to the Product Liability expert and their responses

Did the negligent design of the crib cause the child’s injuries?

In a product liability case like this one, it must be discovered whether the design of the crib caused the injuries to the child. I have academic and real world experiences with consumer safety standards.

If a safety mechanism was in place (causing the bars on the crib to lock), would the child have suffered an injury in a similar manner?

I have worked with firms on industrial and consumer product safety and published books and papers in the field. Also, I have been a part of consumer committees on baby crib and baby furniture standards.

About the expert

This highly qualified expert has over 50 years of experience in mechanical engineering, accident analysis, and forensics with additional specialties in warning labels and standards. He earned a BS in mechanical engineering as well as an MBA and PhD in industrial engineering from the Ohio State University. He is a member of numerous professional organizations pertaining to engineering and safety standards and has an extensive list of both journal publications and books/book chapters. He began his career as a corporate methods engineer for Owens-Corning Fiberglass before serving as an assistant professor, then associate professor, of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan. He then served as the director of safety standards for Federal OSHA before a role as specialist assistant for safety to the US Assistant Secretary of Labor at the time, Dr. Eula Bingham with OSHA responsibilities. For 40 years, he has served as the president of a self-owned engineering consulting firm that specializes in matters such as accident analysis and forensics, consumer product design and liability, warning and instruction labels, and workplace safety and OSHA compliance, among others. He is also an emeritus professor of industrial and operations engineering at a top university in Michigan.

E-000256

Specialties:

Product Liability