pallets – Packaging Expert Witness

Collapsed pallet injury

by Sterling Anthony, CPP, expert witness in packaging, marketing, logistics, human-factors, and warnings.

Synopsis

A warehouse worker was injured when a stretch-wrapped, pallet load suddenly collapsed, causing an upper tier of cartons of products to fall on him.

A personal injury/product liability suit was brought against the company that assembled the load, alleging strict-liability and negligence, stemming from defective packaging.

I was retained by the attorney for the Plaintiff.

Opinions

The contents weight, as established by the Box Manufacturer’s Certificate, was exceeded, thereby rendering the cartons unfit for their intended purposes, both from a performance standpoint and from a regulatory standpoint.

The bottom tier of cartons extended beyond the perimeter of the pallet, beyond industry standards, producing an overhang that reduced the stability of the load, in addition to reducing the load’s stacking strength.

The load exceeded recommended height, as set by industry standards, thereby increasing the load’s susceptibility to collapse.

Corner posts constructed of corrugated paperboard had been placed inside each carton for stacking strength; however, only three posts per carton left one corner without a post, resulting in said corner having less stacking strength.

Photos taken of the collapsed load showed that a carton on the bottom tier had a corner that had “blown out.” Subsequent inspection revealed that the failed corner had no corner post.

Whether severally or in combination, the defects were the direct and proximate cause of the collapse; furthermore, the collapse was reasonably foreseeable.

There were ways to construct a pallet load for stability and for safety, ways that were technologically and financially feasible.

Result

The case settled.

Sterling Anthony, CPP, is an expert witness specializing in packaging, marketing, logistics, human-factors, and warnings. Contact information: 100 Renaissance Center, Box-176, Detroit, MI 48243; 313-531-1875; thepackagingexpertwitness@gmail.com; www.thepackagingexpertwitness.com

Packaging expert witness on pallets case

By Sterling Anthony, CPP, expert witness, packaging, warnings, patent-infringement, cargo loading and securement, insurance claims on loss cargo

Case synopsis

The Plaintiff milled flour, which it packaged in 50-lb. bags, palletized. There came a time when Plaintiff contracted with Defendant for the supply of wood pallets. Subsequently, Plaintiff received a series of complaints about off-odors and illness associated with the flour.

Plaintiff checked its warehouse and discovered that the off-odors consistently were present in product on Defendant’s pallets. Laboratory testing revealed that the pallets were the source of the off-odors and product contamination. It turned out that the pallets had been constructed out of lumber that had been sourced out of South America and had been treated with a certain fungicide to prevent the growth of mold.

The inventory was declared unsalvageable and Plaintiff sued for the value of the inventory and the amount of refunds to customers.

I was retained by Plaintiff.

My opinions

The fungicide breaks down into a chemical compound that emits off-odors that impregnates packaging and contaminates product. Such tendencies on the part of the fungicide is known within the U.S. food industry. Ingestion of the contaminated product can cause a variety of gastronomical distresses. The fungicide had been banned in the United States for use on wood pallets, 10 years prior to Plaintiff’s losses.

Defendant held itself out as a seller, supplier, or broker of wood pallets to the food industry, and, therefore, knew or should have known about the unacceptable risk posed by the fungicide.

Defendant held itself out as a seller, supplier, or broker of wood pallets to the food industry, and, therefore, should have taken steps to determine whether its lumber supplier used a banned fungicide.

Defendant held itself out as a seller, supplier, or broker of wood pallets to the food industry, and, therefore, should have disclosed to Plaintiff any and all chemical-based treatments that had been used on the lumber.

Defendant, having visited Plaintiff’s facilities, knew Plaintiff’s purpose for the pallets.

Defendant breached the industry standard of care by failing to supply wood pallets fit for their intended use, specifically, the packaging, storage and shipment of bags of food grade flour.

Defendant breached the industry standard of care by failing to disclose to Plaintiff that the pallets were assembled with lumber that had been treaded with a banned fungicide.

Defendant’s actions and inactions were the direct and proximate causes of all damages claimed by Plaintiff.

Result:

The case settled

Sterling Anthony, CPP, is a consultant to the industrial, institutional, and government sectors who also provides services to the legal community as an expert. He is a former manager at Fortune 100 companies and a former instructor at two major universities. His contact information is: 100 Renaissance Center-Box 43176, Detroit, MI 48243; (office) 313-531-1875; (cell) 313-623-0522; (fax) 313-531-1972; thepackagingexpertwitness@gmail; www.thepackagingexpertwitness.com

Packaging expert witness discusses pallets

by Sterling Anthony, CPP, expert witness, packaging, warnings, patent infringement, cargo loading & securement, insurance claims

Pallets carry 95% of the world’s cargo, and 90% of pallets are constructed of wood. Those overwhelming percentages establish wood pallets as the linchpin of logistics, affecting the cost, efficiency, and safety with which transportation, material handling, and storage are performed.

The pallet, on surface, is a simple concept, a platform on which items are placed, allowing the now palletized load to be moved mechanically, such as with a forklift truck. On the other hand, pallets should be engineered, designed for structural integrity, under all reasonably-foreseeable conditions encountered from the time they’re loaded until the time they’re unloaded.

Pallets need to embody the requisite combination of strength, stiffness, durability, functionality/compatibility, and affordability.

Strength refers to load-bearing capacity.

Stiffness refers to resistance to undue bending and flexing.

Durability (if not designed for just one trip) refers to the ability to give service across multiple trips.

Functionality/compatibility refers to being consistent with the materials loaded, material handling equipment, transportation regulations, etc.

Affordability refers to FIRST that the pallet be fit for its intended purposes and THEN that it be attainable at the lowest comparable price.

Pallets are of two design categories, referring to how the base is constructed: stringer and block. A block pallet is 4-way, meaning that material handling forks can enter from 4 directions (front, back, and ends). A stringer pallet is 2-way (ends) but can be made 4-way with spaced notches for fork entry, but at the sacrifice of weakening the pallet and making it more vulnerable to damage.

Regardless of design, pallets are different than mass-produced items that (barring a manufacturing defect) are indistinguishable, one from the other. More so than being manufactured, pallets can be said to be assembled and crafted; therefore, there is an inherent potential for variation, even across pallets built from the same design. Some factors that can contribute to said variation include:

Lumber. A pallet’s physical properties are influenced by the type of wood, that is to say, whether hardwood (from deciduous trees) or softwoods (from coniferous trees). Within any one type of lumber are grades, reflecting how free the lumber is from such defects as bark, knotholes, and dimensional irregularities. Yet another important consideration is the degree to which the lumber has been kiln-dried or remains green.

Number and positioning of deck boards. A deck comprised of abutting boards, with no spaces in between——all other things being equal——is sturdier than a deck with spaced boards. Of the latter type of decks, the greater the spacing the less sturdy and the greater the opportunity of an unstable load.

Type, number, and positioning of fasteners. Whether staples or nails are used affect how well the components remain attached, and within each category of fasteners, there are different sizes, with different holding strengths. How many fasteners are used affects how steadfastly the components are joined. Whether the fasteners are patterned in a straight line or staggered not only has an effect on holding strength but also on how likely a board, for example, might split.

By industry standards, any company that loads a pallet is responsible for the fitness of the pallet, and by extension, the fitness of the palletized load.

When pallets fail, the immediate consequence is that the load becomes dangerous to move, prone to tilting on the forks or even falling off. The danger to anyone in the vicinity hardly needs elaboration. Pallet failure also can occur during storage, with the sudden collapse of the load. Failure also can occur during transportation making the unloading——and even the opening of the doors of the equipment——hazardous.

When pallet failure causes or contributes to cargo lost or personal injury and litigation ensues, either party would be wise to retain an expert. The expert should have knowledge of, and experience in, the design, specification, sourcing, inspection, and care of pallets.

Sterling Anthony, CPP, is a consultant to the industrial, institutional, and government sectors and an expert to the legal community. He is a former manager at Fortune 100 companies and a former instructor at two major universities. His contact information is: 100 Renaissance Center-Box 43176, Detroit, MI 48243; (office) 313-531-1875; (cell) 313-623-0522; (fax) 313-531-1972; thepackagingexpertwitness@gmail; www.thepackagingexpertwitness.com