Expert Witness for Forklift and Heavy Equipment Pedestrian Fatalities and Injuries
Independent analysis of whether AI pedestrian detection and collision avoidance technology was available, feasible and likely to have changed the outcome when a worker was killed or seriously injured by an industrial vehicle.
Could Pedestrian Detection Technology Have Prevented This Incident?
When a forklift, loader, haul truck or reversing vehicle strikes a worker, the case often turns on a technical question that most attorneys, adjusters and juries have never had to answer: was there a system on the market that would have detected the person, warned the operator in time, or slowed the machine, and was it reasonable not to have one?
I answer that question from the field, not the brochure. I have sold, installed, configured and supported pedestrian detection and collision avoidance systems on forklifts, construction equipment and mining fleets. I know where camera AI, RFID tags, radar and UWB perform well, where they fail, and why operators sometimes disable them.
Fatal and Serious Injury Cases Involving Industrial Vehicles
I accept matters where a person was killed or badly injured by moving equipment and the availability, absence, performance or misuse of pedestrian detection technology is at issue.
Forklift Pedestrian Struck-By
Warehouse, distribution center and manufacturing incidents at cross-aisles, dock doors, blind corners and shared walkways, including reach trucks, counterbalance forklifts and order pickers.
Heavy Equipment Backovers
Wheel loaders, excavators, dozers, telehandlers and skid steers on construction sites, quarries and yards, where reversing and swing blind spots hide workers on foot.
Mining Vehicle Incidents
Haul trucks, underground loaders and light vehicle interactions at surface and underground mines, where visibility, speed and mass leave little room for error.
Yard and Terminal Vehicles
Yard trucks, terminal tractors, straddle carriers and container handlers in ports, rail yards and distribution yards with constant pedestrian and truck mixing.
Fleet and Reversing Vehicles
Refuse trucks, delivery and service vehicles reversing in plants, lots and job sites where a spotter, camera or detection alert was absent or ignored.
Installed System Failures
Incidents where a detection system was on the machine but did not alert, was misconfigured, poorly maintained, bypassed or not suited to the environment.
The Technical Questions I Address
Availability and Feasibility
What pedestrian detection, proximity warning and collision avoidance technology was commercially available on the date of the incident, what it cost, and whether it could be fitted to the machine involved.
Standard of Care
What a reasonable employer, equipment owner, rental company or manufacturer knew or should have known about these systems, and how industry adoption, consensus standards and guidance shaped that expectation.
Causation and Detection Timing
Whether an available system would likely have detected the person, alerted the operator or slowed the machine in time, given speed, stopping distance, sight lines, lighting, dust and the pedestrian's path.
System Performance and Use
Whether an installed system was suitable, correctly configured, maintained and used, and whether nuisance alarms, training gaps or bypassing contributed to the incident.
Retained by Plaintiffs and Defendants
My opinions follow the facts and the physics, not the side that calls. The same analysis that shows when technology would likely have prevented harm also shows when it would not.
- For plaintiffs: establishing that effective systems were available and feasible, that adoption was reasonable, and that detection would likely have prevented or reduced the injury.
- For defendants: showing the limits of detection technology, whether a system would have changed the outcome in the actual conditions, and whether the safety program met a reasonable standard for its time.
- For manufacturers and insurers: evaluating system design, warnings, installation and claims of product failure.
How I Work as an Expert Witness
- Field experience. Decades selling, deploying and supporting industrial technology in real operations.
- Technology-neutral. Camera AI, RFID, radar, UWB and video analytics evaluated on their merits.
- Evidence-based. Opinions grounded in incident records, video, equipment data, site conditions and published standards.
- Plain language. Complex detection technology explained clearly for counsel, judges and juries.
- Transparent. Commercial relationships disclosed and conflicts checked before any engagement.
From First Call to Testimony
- Initial consultation, no charge. A confidential call of up to 30 minutes to discuss the facts, check conflicts and confirm the matter fits my expertise.
- Retention. A signed retention agreement and initial retainer before any review begins.
- Case review. Analysis of incident reports, video, photographs, equipment specifications, maintenance and training records, OSHA or MSHA findings and deposition transcripts.
- Preliminary findings. A verbal briefing to counsel on what the evidence supports, before any written report.
- Report and testimony. A written report when requested, followed by deposition and trial testimony.
Expert Witness Fees and Retainer
| Service | Rate |
|---|---|
| Case review, research, analysis, consultation with counsel and report preparation | $300 per hour |
| Deposition and trial testimony, including time at the deposition or courthouse | $400 per hour |
| Travel time, portal to portal, plus reasonable expenses at cost | $150 per hour |
- Initial retainer: $3,000, applied against the first hours billed and replenished as work continues.
- Depositions: 2-hour minimum, paid in advance by the party requesting the deposition.
- Trial: half-day minimum (4 hours) per day of attendance.
- Cancellations: testimony cancelled within 72 hours is billed at the scheduled minimum.
- Payment: invoices due within 30 days. Fees are never contingent on the outcome of the case.
A written retention agreement is required for every engagement.
Expert Witness Qualifications
John has spent more than 30 years putting industrial technology to work in real operations: AI pedestrian detection at Blaxtair, autonomous industrial vehicles at Cyngn, machine control at Hemisphere GNSS and Topcon, geospatial systems for major mining companies in Chile, and, as CEO of RioDatos, sourcing, deploying and supporting pedestrian detection on forklifts, construction equipment and mining fleets.
His field work includes AI pedestrian detection across a forklift fleet at a logistics center in Mexico, autonomous tuggers at a global automaker's production facility, and precision machine control on excavators for a large earthmoving contractor. He has worked with camera AI, RFID, radar, UWB and video analytics, and that side-by-side knowledge of what each technology can and cannot detect is at the center of most standard of care and causation questions.
He is the author of three books, Preventing Pedestrian Collisions, AI-Powered Safety and AMR Roadmap, and more than 300 articles on industrial vehicle safety technology. His newest book, Evaluating Pedestrian Detection, addresses standard of care for these systems.
He began his career in litigation support at The Fontana Group, managing cases for a testifying economic expert in automotive franchise disputes. That work covered case analysis and strategy, exhibits, interrogatories, document requests and deposition questions, so he understands how expert opinions are built, tested and challenged in discovery.
Testimony history: no trial or deposition testimony in the past four years. A current list of prior testimony, as required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), is maintained on the curriculum vitae and updated as matters arise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work for both plaintiffs and defendants?
Yes. I accept matters from either side when the facts fall within my expertise and there is no conflict.
Can you tell me early whether the technology issue helps my case?
Yes. After the initial review I give counsel a candid verbal assessment before any report is written. If the evidence does not support your theory, you will hear that first.
Which technologies do you evaluate?
Camera-based AI pedestrian detection, RFID tag systems, radar, ultra-wideband (UWB), video analytics, backup cameras, alarms and speed control integrations on forklifts and heavy mobile equipment.
Do you take cases outside the United States?
Yes. I have worked with industrial operations across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and I work in English and Spanish.
What should I send for the first call?
The case type, jurisdiction, names of the parties for a conflict check, a short description of the incident and the machine involved, and any upcoming deadlines.
Discuss a Forklift or Heavy Equipment Case
The first conversation is confidential and at no charge. Include the case type, jurisdiction, parties for a conflict check and key deadlines.
Contact John