Product Failure or Human Error? How Forensic Engineers Investigate Wrongful Death Cases

Product Failure or Human Error? How Forensic Engineers Investigate Wrongful Death Cases

 

When a fatal accident involves a motor vehicle, industrial machine, consumer product, or piece of mechanical equipment, one of the most important questions is often the most difficult to answer:

Did a product fail, or did human error cause the tragedy?

The answer can have enormous legal and financial consequences.

Wrongful death cases frequently involve allegations that a defective product, mechanical failure, electrical malfunction, or equipment defect contributed to a fatal incident. In other cases, the evidence may demonstrate that the product performed as designed and that human actions, maintenance deficiencies, environmental conditions, or other factors played a more significant role.

Determining the true cause requires far more than visual observation.

It requires a systematic forensic engineering investigation.

At Garrett Forensics, our multidisciplinary engineering team investigates product liability claims, mechanical failures, electrical failures, industrial accidents, and fatal incidents using scientific analysis, engineering principles, and physical evidence to determine the most probable cause of the loss.

 

Engineering Determines Cause—Not Assumptions

In the aftermath of a fatal accident, assumptions are common.

A tire separates on the freeway.

An industrial machine suddenly stops functioning.

An airbag fails to deploy.

A seat breaks during a collision.

An electrical appliance catches fire.

While these events naturally raise questions about product defects, they do not automatically establish that the product caused the fatality.

A forensic engineer approaches the investigation differently.

Rather than asking “What appears to have failed?”, the engineer asks:

What component failed?
When did it fail?
Why did it fail?
Did the failure occur before the incident or as a result of it?
Was the failure caused by design, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, misuse, or another factor?
Could the failure have contributed to the fatal event?

Answering these questions requires careful analysis of the physical evidence.

 

Product Liability Investigations

Product liability claims often involve allegations that a product was unsafe or defective.

The investigation may focus on whether the product contained:

A design defect
A manufacturing defect
Inadequate warnings or instructions
Improper assembly
Material defects
Installation deficiencies

However, products may also fail because of:

Improper maintenance
Unauthorized modifications
Excessive wear
Abuse
Environmental exposure
Improper operation
Damage occurring after manufacture

The engineer evaluates the entire life cycle of the product before reaching conclusions regarding its performance.

 

Mechanical Failure Analysis

Mechanical failures are involved in many wrongful death investigations.

Examples include:

Industrial machinery
Elevators
Cranes
Conveyor systems
Pumps
Compressors
Manufacturing equipment
Agricultural machinery
Construction equipment
Commercial vehicles

A broken component alone rarely explains why a failure occurred.

Garrett Forensics evaluates:

Fracture surfaces
Fatigue cracking
Corrosion
Material properties
Wear patterns
Lubrication
Operating conditions
Maintenance history
Loading conditions
Manufacturer specifications

This systematic approach helps determine whether the mechanical failure initiated the event or occurred as a consequence of the accident.

 

Tire Failures in Fatal Vehicle Collisions

Tire failures can have catastrophic consequences, particularly at highway speeds.

A sudden loss of tire integrity may result in loss of vehicle control, rollover collisions, secondary impacts, or multi-vehicle crashes.

When a fatal collision involves a tire failure, investigators seek to determine:

Was the tire properly maintained?
Was inflation pressure appropriate?
Did road hazards contribute?
Was the tire overloaded?
Did the tire experience impact damage before failure?
Was there evidence of manufacturing defects?
Did tread separation occur before the collision?

Engineering analysis may include detailed examination of the tire, wheel assembly, roadway evidence, and vehicle damage to determine the sequence of events.

 

Seat and Occupant Restraint System Failures

Vehicle seats are designed to maintain occupant positioning during normal driving and collision events.

Following a fatal crash, allegations occasionally arise involving:

Seatback failure
Seat track failure
Recliner mechanism failure
Seat anchor failure
Occupant movement within the vehicle

A forensic engineering investigation evaluates whether the seat performed within its intended design parameters and whether any observed damage occurred before, during, or after the collision.

Engineers also consider the crash severity, impact direction, occupant loading, and vehicle deformation before determining whether a seat failure contributed to the fatal injuries.

 

Airbag System Investigations

Airbags are an important component of modern occupant protection systems.

Following a serious or fatal collision, questions sometimes arise regarding:

Airbag deployment
Non-deployment
Timing of deployment
Sensor operation
Crash severity
Occupant position
Seat belt use
Airbag module performance

An airbag that does not deploy is not necessarily defective.

Airbag systems are designed to deploy only under specific crash conditions.

A forensic engineering investigation evaluates whether the collision met the manufacturer’s deployment criteria and whether the restraint systems functioned as designed.

Electronic vehicle data, crash dynamics, vehicle damage, and occupant kinematics are all considered before conclusions are reached.

 

Electrical Failures

Electrical systems are frequently suspected in fires, equipment failures, and fatal incidents.

However, electrical components damaged by heat or impact may appear similar regardless of whether they caused the event.

Engineers evaluate:

Circuit protection devices
Wiring
Electrical connections
Arc mapping
Electrical fault evidence
Appliances
Electrical panels
Switches
Motors
Control systems

The goal is to determine whether electrical activity initiated the event or resulted from damage occurring afterward.

 

Industrial Equipment and Workplace Fatalities

Industrial incidents often involve complex interactions between machinery, operators, maintenance personnel, and environmental conditions.

Wrongful death investigations may involve:

Manufacturing equipment
Forklifts
Conveyor systems
Hydraulic equipment
Presses
Cranes
Material handling systems
Agricultural equipment

Engineers examine:

Machine design
Safety systems
Operating procedures
Maintenance records
Equipment modifications
Mechanical failures
Electrical systems
Human-machine interaction

These investigations often require collaboration among multiple engineering disciplines.

 

Consumer Product Investigations

Consumer products are expected to perform safely when used as intended.

When a fatal injury allegedly involves a consumer product, engineers evaluate:

Product design
Manufacturing quality
Material selection
Product warnings
Intended use
Foreseeable misuse
Prior recalls
Failure mechanisms
Damage patterns

Examples include:

Household appliances
Power tools
Furniture
Recreational equipment
Automotive components
Children’s products
Electrical devices

The engineering analysis determines whether the product performed as reasonably expected under the circumstances.

 

Human Error Versus Product Failure

Not every fatal incident involving equipment results from a defective product.

Similarly, not every operator error excludes the possibility of a mechanical failure.

In many cases, multiple factors contribute to an accident.

A forensic engineering investigation evaluates the interaction between:

Human actions
Equipment performance
Environmental conditions
Maintenance history
Mechanical systems
Electrical systems
Safety devices
Operating procedures

The objective is not to assign blame but to determine the technical cause of the event based on the available evidence.

 

The Importance of Evidence Preservation

Critical evidence may disappear quickly after a fatal incident.

Vehicles are repaired or salvaged.

Machinery is removed from service.

Products are discarded.

Fire scenes are demolished.

Electronic data may be overwritten.

Preserving evidence early allows engineers to examine the components involved before they are altered.

Evidence preservation often includes:

Vehicle inspections
Product retention
Tire preservation
Electronic data downloads
Event Data Recorder (EDR) retrieval
Photographic documentation
Scene measurements
Laboratory analysis
Chain of custody documentation

Garrett Forensics’ Multidisciplinary Approach

Wrongful death investigations frequently require expertise from multiple engineering disciplines.

Garrett Forensics provides comprehensive forensic investigations involving:

Accident Reconstruction
Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Structural Engineering
Product Liability
Fire Origin and Cause
Biomechanical Engineering
Event Data Recorder Downloads
Human Factors Analysis
Expert Witness Services

By combining technical disciplines, our experts evaluate the entire sequence of events rather than focusing on a single component in isolation.

 

Scientific Investigation Leads to Defensible Conclusions

Wrongful death litigation often involves complex technical questions that cannot be answered through assumptions or visual observations alone.

Determining whether a fatal incident resulted from product failure, mechanical malfunction, electrical defects, maintenance issues, or human actions requires careful engineering analysis and objective evaluation of the available evidence.

Through scientific investigation, testing, and engineering methodology, forensic engineers help insurance carriers, attorneys, manufacturers, corporations, and courts understand how and why a failure occurred.

Garrett Forensics provides forensic engineering investigations, product liability analysis, mechanical failure investigations, electrical engineering evaluations, accident reconstruction, and expert witness services throughout California and across the United States.

If your wrongful death case involves allegations of product defects, equipment failure, tire failure, restraint system performance, electrical malfunction, or industrial machinery, contact Garrett Forensics to discuss how our multidisciplinary engineering team can help determine the origin, cause, and contributing factors behind the incident.