Where counsel brings us in
Case merit analysis. Before discovery costs mount, we review the available record — incident reports, OSHA files, photographs, training logs — and tell you plainly whether the safety facts support the theory of the case. An honest early read is worth more than a favorable late one.
Standard-of-care opinions. We opine on what the governing standards required and whether the conduct at issue met them — federal OSHA under 29 CFR 1926 and 29 CFR 1910, Cal/OSHA requirements including the 8 CCR 3203 Injury and Illness Prevention Program, EM 385-1-1 on federal and military projects, and the ANSI consensus standards and industry custom that define reasonable practice.
Incident reconstruction from the record. We rebuild the sequence of events from documents and physical evidence using structured methods aligned with OSHA fatality and catastrophe investigation protocols — the same discipline behind our workplace safety audits, applied after the fact instead of before it.
Deposition and trial testimony. Direct, plain-spoken, and consistent from report to deposition to the stand.
Written reports. Documented, dated, and defensible — organized so counsel can build on them and opposing experts cannot pick them apart.
What does a safety expert witness do?
A safety expert witness analyzes the safety facts of an injury or fatality case — which standards applied, what a reasonable employer or contractor would have done, and whether the conduct at issue met that standard — then delivers those opinions in written reports, deposition testimony, and trial testimony.
The work is forensic. Whether the question is a missing guardrail under 29 CFR 1926.501, an unprotected trench under 29 CFR 1926.652, or a machine that should have been locked out under 29 CFR 1910.147, the answer lives in the records — training rosters, competent person designations, job hazard analyses, inspection logs. We know where to look because we build those records for employers every working day.
Field experience is what a jury believes
Credentials qualify an expert. Field experience makes one credible. PS&M’s team is BCSP-credentialed and carries more than 75 years of combined jobsite experience across construction and manufacturing — running safety programs, walking sites, and investigating serious injuries and fatalities. When our expert explains what a competent person should have seen at the leading edge, it reads as experience, not preparation. Joe Henricks, Founder & Principal Consultant, leads every engagement.
Plaintiff and defense
We take both. Opinions follow the evidence — that independence is what gives them weight under cross-examination. If the facts cut against you, you will hear it in the merit analysis, not for the first time at deposition.
Start with a confidential case review
Send the essentials — venue, incident date, the parties, and what records exist. We run a conflicts check, review the materials, and come back with a candid assessment of the safety issues and our fit for the case. Call 213.290.3013 or request a confidential case review.