• Building Codes
• Construction Safety
• Cranes
• Doors
• Failure Analysis
• Fitness Equipment
• Hydraulic Engineering
• Lifts
• Lighting & Illumination
• Machine Guarding
• Mechanical Engineering
• OSHA
• Power Tools
• Products Liability
• Ramp & Stairs

Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:

A: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 1980;
Master of Mechanical Engineering, 1989;
Professional Engineer, State of Illinois

Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:

A: Chairman, ANSI A14.7: Mobile Ladder Stands and Mobile Ladder Stand Platforms
Voting member of ANSI A14 family of ladder safety standards
Sub-committee member, ANSI A14.8: Ladder Accessories
Member, Ladder Labeling Task Force
Member ANSI A14 Executive Committee
Member, ANSI A14 Steering Committee

Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:

A: Guest speaker on Construction Crane Safety major accident categories including two-blocking, overturning, undecking and overhead powerline contact;
Machine Guarding seminar focusing on machine operator and maintenance personnel safety including Lockout/Tagout, Safeguard reliability and reliance, Maintenance practices;
Guest speaker at Notre Dame University student ASME chapter: The History and Developement of Automated Pinspotting;
Various paper presentations at Amer. Society of Mechanical Engineers meetings including: Rollover Protective Structures for small tractors; Ladder innovations

Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)

A: No.

Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?

A: Several hundred occasions since 1980.

Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?

A: Mr. Switalski has been retained in a vide variety of matters that involve issues in Mechanical Engineering including:

Product Liability
Premises Liability
Industrial Work Practices
Safety
Worker qualifications and training
Safety standard and code compliance

Following are examples of the Machinery, Products and Issues involved in consultations as an Expert Witness:

Appliances - household & commercial
Coffee Makers
Flatwork Ironers
Garbage Disposals
Ranges/Stoves
Refrigerators
Steam Kettles
Toasters
Washing Machines/Dryers

Agricultural Equipment
Augers: loaders and unloaders
Barn cleaners
Combines
Corn Pickers/Huskers
Cultivators
Grain storage bins
Hay Balers
Manure Spreaders
Tractors

Bowling Equipment
Approach Surface maintenance
Automatic Pinsetters/Pinspotters
Ball Returns
Lane Cleaning/Conditioning machines
Bowling Shoes

Construction Machinery & Equipment
Backhoes
Concrete Mixers
Concrete Cutters
Cranes: mobile, overhead, tower, truck-mounted
Earthmoving machinery
Graders
Ladders: commercial and job-made
Markings/Barricades
Overhead Powerline Contact
Pavers
Scaffolding
Steel Wheel Rollers
Trench Safety

Compaction Equipment
Balers including bale tying equipment
Refuse compactors: mobile and stationary

Conveyors: apron, belt, bucket, chain, extendable, flight, roller, screw, trolley

Fasteners and Assembly Tools/Methods
Bolts & Nuts
Concrete Anchors
Crimped attachments
Nails
Rivets
Screws: machine, sheet metal, wood

Ingress & Egress Systems
Doors: revolving, sliding & swinging
Gates: manual and powered
Handrails
Overhead Garage Doors
Ramps: indoor & outdoor
Stairways including Escalators

Lawn & Garden Equipment
Chipper/Shredders
Lawn Tractors
Mowers


Lifting Equipment
Automotive Lifts
Forklift Trucks
Hoists & Winches
Mobile Work Platforms/ Bucket Lifts
Motorcycle Lifts
Powered Scaffolds
Scissor Lifts
Slings & Rigging

Lighting Evaluation

Maintenance Practices
Lockout/Tagout
Personnel Protective Equipment - selection, use, training
Qualifications/Training
Tool Use and Selection

Metalworking Machinery
Automatic Chucking machines
Broaching machines
Cold Headers
Die Casting machines
Drills/Punches
Grinding machines
Hydraulic Presses
Iron Workers
Lathes
Milling machines
Power Presses
Press Brakes
Shears
Sheet Metal Processing Lines
Steel Coil Handling/Storage

Mining Machinery
Belt Conveyors
Continuous Miners
Mobile Bridge Carriers
Roof Bolting Machines
Soil-sampling Drilling Rigs

Paper-Making Equipment
Calenders
Embossing Rolls
Slitters
Winders/Rewinders

Plastics Machinery
Blow Molding
Injection Molding
Plastic film manufacturing/Wind-Up
Scrap Granulators

Printing Machinery
Flexographic presses
Folders
Printer-Slotters
Printing Presses: sheet & web fed

Tools: Hand & Power Tools, commercial and consumer, Ladders

Warnings and Instructions
Manuals: Assembly, Service, User
Warning Signs/Placards: adequacy, placement, assessment of need

Woodworking Machinery - industrial and consumer
Drills
Glue Spreaders
Lathes
Planers
Saws: Band, Chop, Circular, Cut-off, Panel, Table
Shapers
Tenoners

Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?

A: Approx. 15% to 20%

Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the defendant?

A: Approx. 75% to 80%

Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?

A: Approx. 125 times

Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?

A: January 2024

Q: On how many occasions have you been qualified by a court to give expert testimony?

A: Approx. 35 times.

Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?

A: Approx. 35 times.

Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?

A: Since 1980 (45 years)

Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)

A: Incident Scene and/or Product Inspection
Evidence evaluation
Safety Standard & Code Compliance
Customized Destructive and Non-destructive Testing of Exemplar Products
Witness Statement & Testimony Evaluation
Safety Sign & Placard Evaluation
Installation, Assembly & User Manual Evaluation
Product Use & Misuse Evaluation
Industrial Work Practice evaluation
Personal Protective Equipment adequacy
Assessment of Training & Safety Responsibility
Report preparation
Expert Testimony via deposition and trial
Technical Support such as assistance with questioning of opposing technical witnesses

Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?

A: There is no charge for the initial attorney contact. Thereafter, $245.00/hr. for all activities other than actual testimony time. Testimony time is billed at $320.00/hr.

Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?

A: $245.00/hr

Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?

A: $320.00/hr

Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?

A: $320.00/hr

Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)

A: Out-of-pocket expenses are billed at cost: Air fare, lodging, meals, rental car, taxi, parking, tolls, tools/instrument rental, literature purchases, use of outside laboratories/test facilities, document printing, storage fees.
Mileage charge is based on the current national reimbursement rate.
Air travel delay time is billed at $125.00/hr.
Photos with ID numbers: (4x6) $1.40 each; (5x7) $4.75 each; (8x10) $9.00 each
Photo CD's: $10.00 each
Video Recording: $50.00 plus $10.00 each video CD
Photocopying: $0.23/page b&w; $0.38/page color
Printing from e-mail or digital media: $0.25/page b&w; $0.38/page color
Printing (b&w): $0.25/page; Color printing: $0.38/page

Mr. Paul A. McLennon, Jr.
McLennon & McFadden Ltd.
100 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1520
Chicago, IL 60602
(312)641-9830

Mr. Richard T. Petrillo
Pino & Associates
Westchester Financial Center
50 Main St.
White Plains, NY 10606
(914)946-0600