PEARLMAN, ARVIN J.

Pearlman and Pianin, P.L.L.C.

24725 W. Twelve Mile Road - Suite 220

Southfield, Michigan 48076

(248) 356-5000

(800) 272-5400

Fax: (248) 356-0001

E-Mail: apearlman@pearlpi.com

Attorney-Senior Partner of law firm representing railroad workers and their families. Member of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, American Bar Association, Michigan Trial Lawyers Association and several other Professional Associations. Serves as a Mediator in Case Litigation and is a member of the Mediation Tribunal Association. Lead Counsel in several multiple million dollar jury trials in State and Federal Courts throughout the United States. Designated Legal Counsel for a number of Railroad Unions, both international and local in scope. Thirty-two years experience in F.E.L.A., Jones Act and Personal Injury litigation



 

PERCY, DENNIS G., P.E., P.L.S.

Delta Engineering Group

8092 Valencia Drive

Huntington Beach, California 92647

(714) 842-6773

Fax: (714) 847-6218

E-mail: noderails@earthlink.net

Mr. Percy received a degree in physics from California State University, Long Beach in 1972. He is a registered civil engineer in California and also a licensed land surveyor in California. Projects consist of civil and structural design of track, crane rail systems, conveyors, retaining walls, drainage design, bridge and culvert design, etc.

He has thirty-six (36) years experience in the design, construction, maintenance, inspection (including FRA requirements) and cost estimates for railroad track, special track work, switches/turnouts, grade crossings, grade crossing geometry, grade crossing surfaces, bicycle crossings, drainage, walkway/toe path and clearances. He was employed by the Santa Fe Railroad for a period of five years after which he went to work for various railroad contractors. Having completed the design of several hundred railroad projects, he is often called upon to complete very difficult geometric designs for other firms. Experience extends to mainline track, industrial track, short line railroad track, portal crane rail systems and overhead cranes.

He has performed analysis of derailments for the National Safety Transportation Board. Analysis includes track geometry, track profile, structures and clearances. While employed with contractors and as a consultant, he worked on over a hundred track derailments in California. He has performed geometric analysis of collisions between trains and pedestrians and vehicles at intersections and along right-of-ways.

He and his staff have performed "accident surveys" for various railroad claims departments - these include fatalities of trainmen in switching yards, injuries from hard-to-throw switches, trip and fall accidents, etc.

Where railroad workers are injured in the performance of their work, we can perform physics analysis and force measurements of hard-to-throw switches, hard-to-turn car brakes, hard-to-open hopper doors, etc. Being familiar with most track tools and track construction/maintenance machinery, we perform analysis and measure the forces required to use those tools. We work in conjunction with other experts to determine the bio-mechanical forces generated by various railroad work activities.

We perform track surveys/inspections to determine compliance with FRA requirements, walkway and toe-path requirements and track clearances. We perform safety inspections on railroad bridges and culverts.

Mr. Percy is an experienced photographer. The site photograph utilized can be set up to establish geometric relationships of the scene for the purposes of crash reconstruction. He is able to explain the railroad jargon and railroad issues in terms the layman will understand.

Membership in Chi Epsilon, A.R.E.M.A., A.C.E.C., CELSOC, S.A.M.E., N.A.R.S.C.I., F.C.A. Available for plaintiffs and defendants.
 

 

PRUITT, P. ANDREW, Accident Analyst

Wolf Technical Services

6836 Hawthorn Park Drive

Indianapolis, IN  46005

Phone:  (317) 966-0548  Fax:  (937) 294-3071

Website:  www.wolftechnical.com  E-Mail:  apruitt@wolftechnical.com

Accident investigator/consultant with emphasis in the areas of lighting, visibility, and human perception.  Expertise includes the evaluation of ambient/headlamp lighting, scene contrast, visual acuity, and contextual issues.  Mr. Pruitt has a broad background in the optical science field.  As a physicist with Naval Avionics Center he participated in the development of the Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator (DSMAC), the highly successful optical guidance system for the Navy's TOMAHAWK cruise missile.  As an Engineering Specialist with General Dynamics he was a major contributor in the development of the next-generation, laser-based guidance systems.  He has written numerous research papers published in such journals as Applied Optics and has filed tow patents in the U.S. Patent Office.