To Analyze Who Else Owns This Loss

Jeffery H. Warren, Ph.D., P.E., CSP

Remember the Following:

1. Artistotle was wrong when he said "Accidents are without cause."
2. Most losses are predictable, preventable and have multiple causes.
3. Fire investigations should be performed using NFPA 921.
4. First, locate the origin; then determine the cause; analyze the spread; create an involvement matrix and affix responsibility.
5. Remember, Cause drives Responsibility.
6. To determine the cause of the fire or explosion, determine the ignition source, fuel source and the circumstances that caused them to come together.
7. Look for conditions of defect in the machinery and equipment.
8. Safety is not just the responsibility of the user. Analyze the design first, and then look at what the user did.
9. If a light bulb wired in series with a group of switches is analogous to a property damage claim, then each switch is analogous to a cause of the loss. Most people want to only look at the last switch that was flipped as the cause of the loss.
10. You have a products liability case against the machine manufacturer if you can prove:
    1. The product was defective when used.
    2. The defect existed when the product was manufactured.
    3. The defect was the proximate cause of the injury.
    4. The specific use of the product that caused the injury was reasonably foreseeable.

Download the Responsibility Matrix here