This blog presents Metropolitan Engineering Consulting & Forensics (MEC&F) claim management and claim investigation analyses of some of the typical claims we handle
POMONA, Calif. (CNS/ FOX 11) - Four people were killed and three people suffered critical injuries when a vehicle overturned Saturday near a freeway off-ramp in Pomona.
Another person in the vehicle suffered minor injuries in the crash on the eastbound Pomona (60) Freeway, on the Reservoir Street off-ramp, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Firefighters and paramedics dispatched to the scene at 5:06 a.m. rushed three people to an area hospital, according to a county fire department dispatcher.
4 dead, 3 injured in early morning car crash in Pomona
A SigAlert issued at 5:23 a.m. closing the eastbound No. 3 and No. 4 lanes of the 60 Freeway and the Reservoir Street off-ramp was canceled at 12:51 p.m., according to CHP Officer Tony Polizzi.
CHP is not eliminating the possibility that another vehicle was involved and the investigation continues.
Based on the evidence collected thus far, the vehicle was speeding; this led to its overturn. These people were coming from a late night visit at Universal studios. Drinking was most likely involved here.
OCTOBER 16, 2016 Two men have been killed after they fell out of a 36-foot catamaran on the Potomac River Saturday, according to Maryland Department of Natural Resources police.
The crash happened about noon near Fairview Beach in King George County, Virginia.
Police have identified the boaters as James A. Melley, 49, of Buford, Georgia, and Garth Thomas Tagge, 61, of Atlanta. Melley was driving the boat, and Tagge was the throttleman, police said.
A spokesperson for police said the boat involved in the crash is capable of going 190 mph, and police are trying to figure out if the men were racing the boat.
"MD NRP did not sanction a race, but it looks like it occurred at the Potomac River Radar Run," the spokesperson said in a statement.
It is not known at this time how fast the boat was going when it crashed. The boat has an open cockpit, the spokesperson said.
The victims' bodies will be taken to the medical examiner's office for autopsies as police continue to investigate.
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2 men from Georgia killed when racing boat flips on Potomac River during the Potomac River Radar Run
By Martin Weil October 15 at 9:21 PM
Two men were killed Saturday in the Potomac River south of Washington when their high-powered racing boat flipped over and ejected them as they were taking part in a time trial.
James A. Melley, Jr., 49, of Buford, Ga., was operating the 36-foot offshore racing vessel in the river off Fairview Beach, Va., in Charles County, Md. waters, said Candy Thomson, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police. The other man killed was Garth Thomas Tagge, 61, of Atlanta, Thomson said.
Late Saturday morning the vessel was nearing a trial point on the river at “very high” speed when the bow lifted. The boat rose from the water, and the men were thrown out, Thomson said. A Charles County Fire and Rescue boat, brought them on board and began CPR.
Resuscitation efforts were unavailing, and both men died about 12:40 p.m., Thomson said.
The men were taking part in an annual event called the Potomac River Radar Run, said Guy Booth, part owner of Tim’s II restaurant, which is near the time trial site.
Boats run a mile-long course, one by one, to be clocked by radar to determine which is fastest, Booth said. Speeds Saturday reached as high as 170 mph, he said.
Participants “know the dangers,” he said. It wasn’t done for money, he said, but “for pride.”
HOBART, IN— Barring the addition of a buffer zone, E&B Paving contractors are refusing to return to a construction site along Interstate 65 where a 35-year-old LaPorte worker died Wednesday, a union spokesman said this week.
“If you drove down that stretch of road over the last couple of weeks, there were workers performing less than 12 inches away from traffic,” said Ed Maher, a spokesman for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
The death of Brandon Beau Dewayne Fiscus, with the Anderson-based E&B Paving, is being investigated by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Fiscus was killed at the construction site Wednesday after police say a woman lost control of her SUV and struck him as he worked along I-65 just one mile south of the Ridge Road exit.
Maher added workers have agreed to patch up existing holes, but only at night, when an additional lane closure can be granted. They want main line work delayed until the spring, he said.
INDOT spokesman Matthew Deitchley said Thursday the state agency was not aware of any workers refusing to return to the job site, but that INDOT and the contractor mutually decided to halt work through this weekend “out of respect for the worker and those on the job site who experienced this tragedy.”
“There are 28 remaining days of work planned for this year, with most of that work at night, per the original schedule. Ramps and main line work is all part of that plan,” he said.
Construction in the area of the crash has been ongoing since May. The right and outer shoulder are marked off with construction barrels, and there are many informational signs warning drivers of the construction area.
Police said Jasmine Tirado, 23, of Merrillville, was driving north on I-65 when she changed lanes several times before hitting a construction barrel separating the construction area from traffic on northbound I-65. After hitting the barrel, Tirado continued into a construction area where Fiscus was using a concrete saw, police said. She is accused of hitting another barrel and striking Fiscus, throwing him into her windshield.
Barrels vs. barriers
Maher said safety concerns about the use of plastic construction barrel drums, rather than concrete barriers, were raised to the Indiana Department of Transportation prior to the worker’s death. However, Deitchley said INDOT did not field any complaints about better worker protections on the job site, noting the responsibility of safety equipment lies with the contractor.
A spokesman for E&B Paving could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.
“INDOT oversees and ensures the work zone meets safety requirements for the traveling public, but the safety of contractor workers and any decisions about work zone safety equipment for workers is ultimately the decision of the contractor,” Deitchley said.
While concrete barriers may increase worker safety, the closure of additional lanes to accommodate the barriers could create massive backups and increase accidents for all involved, he said.
“It must be stressed that this tragic accident happened miles into the work zone, which met all safety requirements, not at the beginning or end of the zone where traffic begins to taper,” Deitchley said. “This driver, who was seen weaving in and out of traffic, cut into the middle of a work zone recklessly before striking the worker.”
He added state policy dictates when and how many lanes can be closed in this section of I-65 during certain hours, he said. Upwards of 100,000 vehicles travel this section of I-65 every day.
“Closing an additional lane of traffic on I-65 during the day, in addition to what was already closed due to construction, would violate this policy. Therefore INDOT and the contractor included as much nighttime work as possible, so an additional lane could be closed for safety,” he said.
Maher said worker safety should be of utmost importance on such a busy highway.
“These are just people doing their jobs. Any of us, at the end of our work day, get to go home to our families, and unfortunately in construction, it’s a much more dangerous job so measures have to be taken,” he said.
‘Safety is paramount’
The hope is to have INDOT install concrete barriers in the spring, Maher said.
INDOT recently notified project managers, engineers and contractors of adjustments to change orders regarding safety, according to a letter dated Oct. 13 and obtained by The Times. It states “by identifying these improvements through change order, the costs to these improvements can be tracked and therefore not counted against the on budget metrics.”
“Safety is paramount on all construction projects and should not influence decisions based on meeting any metric concerning budget,” the letter states.
Deitchley said the state memorandum has “been in the works” for two or three months and its release Thursday had nothing to do with the recent fatality.
“This was a terrible tragedy, where a young man lost his life and every one of us is shocked and saddened. INDOT will continue to work, along with our contractors to make work zones as safe as possible,” he said. “But it cannot be ignored that drivers must slow down and pay attention, especially in work zones. One poor decision by a driver can shatter the lives of so many, no matter how many safety measures are in place.”
State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, who chairs the House Roads and Transportation Committee, said there’s no single solution to protect workers at construction sites. Soliday last year unsuccessfully pushed legislation authorizing cameras to enforce speed limits in work zones.
“Let’s be honest. That driver should have not crossed those barrels. The behavior of drivers out there, because I’ve witnessed it, is becoming almost unconscionable,” he said.
============ Construction worker killed in I-65 crash
Sarah Reese sarah.reese@nwi.com, (219) 933-3351 Updated Oct 15, 2016
HOBART, IN — A construction worker was killed Wednesday after a woman lost control of her SUV and struck him as he worked along Interstate 65, police said.
Brandon Beau Dewayne Fiscus, 35, of LaPorte, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He was working for E & B Paving, of Anderson, Indiana.
The impact of the crash about 9:35 a.m. threw Fiscus more than 100 feet, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Indiana State Police.
Police said Jasmine Tirado, 23, of Merrillville, was driving a 2013 GMC SUV north on I-65, about one mile south of the Ridge Road exit, when she changed lanes several times. She moved from the left lane to the middle lane, behind a semi, and finally to the right lane before hitting a construction barrel separating the construction area from traffic on northbound I-65.
After hitting the barrel, Tirado continued into a construction area where Fiscus was using a concrete saw on a caddy, police said. She hit another barrel and struck Fiscus, throwing him into her windshield.
Fiscus then hit a company-owned 2016 Ford F-250 pickup truck directly behind him and came to rest about 100 feet in front of the pickup, police said.
Fiscus was pronounced dead from massive blunt force trauma by Lake County coroner’s investigators, police said.
Construction in the area of the crash has been ongoing since May. The right and outer shoulder are marked off with construction barrels, and there are many informational signs warning drivers of the construction area, police said.
The crash remains under investigation, said Doug Moats, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Transportation. The department is saddened by the death, he said.
All northbound lanes of I-65 were closed for an investigation and cleanup. All lanes were reopened about 12:45 a.m., police said.
The Australian inquest into two of the three deaths that occurred on board the Sage Sagittarius (dubbed the Death Ship) has heard expert opinion this week that vital voyage data recordings were most likely deliberately tampered with before being handed over to authorities.
The Sydney inquest is examining the disappearance of chief cook Cesar Llanto and the death of chief engineer Hector Collado. Llanto, 42, disappeared overboard off Cairns on August 30, 2012. Collado, 55, died a fortnight later after falling 12 storeys down an engineering shaft when the ship was moored at the Port of Newcastle.
Superintendent Kosaku Monji, whose death is not being investigated, was subsequently sent to the ship to calm the crew. Monji began an audit of the deaths on behalf of Hachiuma Steamship Company, but it was cut short when his body was found mangled in a conveyor belt on October 6 when the ship was in Japan – and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the Australian inquest.
The three men died or disappeared within a 37-day period.
Naval electronics expert Mark Sanders, testified that he believed audio recordings from the days Collado and Llanto died had been deliberately deleted. The Australian authorities had requested 10 audio files to be downloaded for evidence but had only been given nine, and the date stamps appeared to have been tampered with.
The inquest also heard that the shipping company's executive director Shigeto Yoshimura said, via video link from Japan, that he didn’t think there is “any sort of relationship amongst these three deaths.”
The Japanese Coast Guard and the Japanese Transport Safety Board investigating Monji's death were not told of the deaths of the other two men.
Yoshimura conceded that he did not report the other deaths "probably because I did not want to delay the operation of the ship."
The inquest, which has been running since 2014, has already heard that the master of the vessel Captain Filipino Venancio Salas Jr regularly bullied galley worker Jessie Martinez. On one occasion, he allegedly punched him so hard he struggled for breath for days afterwards.
The captain also admitted to selling guns to crew members and taking a commission. Most of the crew members on board were armed. When pressed, Salas admitted to collecting the gun brochures and permits from the crew before the Sage Sagittarius docked in Newcastle to prevent the Australian Federal Police from finding them.
The inquest heard that Llanto may have been involved in a plan to report Salas to the International Transport Workers’ Federation on arrival in Australia. Salas denied he was angry with Llanto and denied he had anything to do with his disappearance, but said he believed the man may have been murdered.
One of the crew members has also spoken out at a previous hearing saying he feared for his life after Llanto’s disappearance. The man, who cannot be named, told the inquest he believed Llanto’s death was neither an accident nor a suicide.
The crew member spoke of an argument between Salas and Llanto a week prior to the cook’s disappearance. The argument was over the captain’s order to give the crew less food, a practice he believed enabled the captain to personally take the money saved.
Australian Customs and Border Protection officials raided the Sage Sagittarius 13 times in the three years before the deaths occurred.
Songa Endurance. Photo: Songa Offshore Statoil: Well Control Incident on Songa Endurance Rig in North Sea
October 15, 2016 by Mike Schuler
Statoil reported a well control incident on its contracted drilling rig Songa Endurance on Saturday while at the Troll field in the Norwegian North Sea.
The well has been secured with a blowout preventer around the drill string on the seabed and with a valve on the rig, Statoil said in a statement. Work is now being carried out to stabilize the well.
All personnel not in connection with the incident will be removed from the rig, the company said.
There were 107 people on board when the incident occurred. No injuries were reported and there is no risk of an oil spill.
The incident was reported to the Statoil at 9:50 am CET on Saturday.
The semi-submersible Songa Endurance was working on the G4 well in the Troll field near Troll B when incident occurred.
“Complications occurred during the work on removing the production string from the well,” Statoil said in its statement. “The blowout preventer was then activated and the well is now closed.
“There is still pressure in the well and work is now being carried out to stabilise the well. Fluid for stabilising the well is being sent out to the rig from land to be able to perform this work. These supplies are expected to arrive at the field at around 8 pm CET this evening. Extra specialist personnel are on the way to the rig to assist those on board.”
Statoil and Songa Offshore, who owns the rig, have mobilized their emergency response organizations. The emergency response vessel Stril Merkur is at the field and other resources, including helicopters, are available, according to Statoil.
Weather conditions are good, Statoil said.
The Troll field is located in the northern part of the North Sea, approximately 65 kilometers west of Kollsnes in Hordaland. The field extends over an area of 750 square kilometers in blocks 31/2, 31/3, 31/5 and 31/6 in the North Sea.
The Songa Endurance is a DP-3 or moored harsh environment semi-submersible, designed for year-round drilling, completion, testing and intervention operations. It is equipped for up to 500 meters water depth currently.
Songa Endurance. Photo: Songa Offshore 
There were 107 people on board when the incident occurred. No injuries were reported and there is no risk of an oil spill.