Click here to recommend this site to an associate. Investigations Root Cause Determination Failure Analysis Matco engineers are often called upon to serve as expert witnesses in a court of law. Forensic Engineering provides the means to apply engineering principles and methodology to answer questions of fact that may have legal ramifications. It is the responsibility of the expert witness to present objective testimony based on the examination of all materials and evidence pertinent to the case. We believe that unprejudiced observations supported by experienced laboratory and field testing, are the most important factors in the identification of failure.
Special attention is paid to small details, and as many scenarios are anticipated as possible.
In one recent case, Matco was requested to examine a boiler tube that ruptured in a blast, which cost the lives of two workers. The ensuing investigation revealed that the explosion was due to excessive amounts of chelants injected into the pipe. Often, a seemingly small detail can influence the outcome of a trial, such as a recent case involving a kerosene heater that was suspected as being responsible for a house fire. During Matco's initial investigation, it was observed that the kerosene container didn't smell quite right. When a sample was analyzed from the container, it was found to be a mixture of gasoline and kerosene, which of course would make the mixture prone to explosion when ignited.