Safety Engineering Expert’s Testimony on the Structural Failure of the Ladder Excluded

Plaintiff Andrew Christensen alleged that he was injured while working at Plaintiff Jessica Lawrence’s home, using an aluminum stepladder, Model W-2112-065, which was manufactured by Defendant Louisville Ladder, Inc. Plaintiff Lawrence had purchased the Ladder from Walmart, Inc.

Christensen asserted products liability claims against Louisville Ladder based on the alleged injury.

Louisville Ladder filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Plaintiff Christensen’s expert, Frank L. Burg.

Safety Engineering Expert Witness

Frank Lewis Burg is an expert in various domains, particularly general industry and construction safety and health, alongside expertise in ergonomics. His investigative experience spans injuries related to cranes, rigging, road construction accidents, falls, railroad incidents, electrical mishaps, machine guarding, gas and oil well incidents, hazardous chemicals, and cases involving human factors engineering and FELA (Federal Employees Liability Act). Beyond investigations, Burg conducts training seminars, OSHA-style audits, and offers expert testimony in his field of expertise.

Want to know more about the challenges Frank Burg has faced? Get the full details with our Challenge Study report.  

Discussion by the Court

Defendant argued, among other things, that Burg should be excluded because he is not qualified to render an opinion on a manufacturing defect.
Defendant also argued that his opinions have insufficient factual foundation, are not founded in proper methodology, and only provide bottom-line conclusions without sufficient support. Finally, Defendant argued that his testimony should be excluded because he has disclosed a preliminary report only.

Burg, a registered professional safety engineer with Accident Prevention Corporation concluded his report by writing that Christensen’s injuries were “caused by a structural failure of the Louisville Ladder. There is no indication that Christensen did anything that would cause the catastrophic failure seen in the photographs.”

Burg characterized his report as preliminary, and at his deposition, he testified that his opinions were not final. He further admitted during his deposition that he added a statement to the report that he normally does not, reserving the right to have the Ladder examined further and potentially change his opinions because he “wrote [the] report with very limited information.” He also stated that should this case go to trial, he would want to have the Ladder tested and obtain testimony from a metallurgist or structural engineer.

Analysis

Burg is a qualified expert in safety practices and hazard prevention, but he is not a design expert or metallurgist. He lacked the education, training, and experience to offer an opinion that there was a construction defect in the Ladder that caused the accident.

Moreover, Burg did not visit the scene of the accident. He did not perform any testing or complete his own investigation. In fact, he did not even inspect the Ladder. Instead, he talked to Plaintiff Christensen and relied on materials provided to him. In other words, Burg’s opinions that the Ladder had a construction defect and the defect caused Plaintiff Christensen’s injuries are based on photographs and interviews

The Court found that in forming his opinions, Burg did not employ a proper methodology, and the opinions lacked sufficient support.

Held

The Court granted Defendant Louisville Ladder, Inc.’s motion to exclude the testimony of Frank Burg.

Key Takeaway:

Burg did not apply a methodology, and he failed to provide any explanation of the analysis he used in forming his opinions that the Ladder had a construction defect, and the defect caused the Ladder to collapse, other than to state that there is no other possible cause.

In short, there is nothing within his report that relies upon any specific method or scientific principles that would be otherwise unavailable to the trier of fact. Burg is being offered to give the opinions that the damage to the Ladder was not merely from a fall, but rather that the Ladder collapsed, and the collapse was caused by a construction defect.

Case Details:

Case Caption:	Christensen Et Al V. Louisville Ladder, Inc. Et Al
Docket Number:	4:23cv136
Court Name:	United States District Court, Missouri Eastern
Order Date:	September 05, 2025