David G. Smith, MSME, MBA, PE, CSP

I lead a team of experienced mechanical engineers and certified safety professionals that consult with companies on product development, design improvement, risk assessments and expert witness work for product liability and intellectual property (patent) cases.

Our engineers come from a variety of backgrounds and we service industries including: Industrial equipment, trailers, refuse equipment, zip lines, thrill rides, oil and gas equipment, drilling equipment, forklifts, conveyors, aerial lifts (MEWPs), cranes, exercise and fitness equipment, athletic equipment, outdoor/camping equipment, seating, chairs, and consumer products.

Services

Mr. Smith has been retained as an expert on over 150 patent, personal injury and product liability cases and has testified in a number of these. Mr. Smith has attended SEAK expert witness training and has experience and competency in the following areas: Patent Invalidity / Non-infringement, Patent Infringement/Validity, Prior Art Searching, Claim Construction, Product Liability, Personal Injury, Failure Reconstruction, Safety, Risk Assessment, Hazard Analysis, Warnings.

Litigation Support Services

Mr. Smith has been retained as an expert on over 50 patent, product liability, and personal injury cases and has testified in a number of these. He has worked as a senior associate on an additional 45+ patent cases and an additional 75+ product liability/personal injury cases. Mr. Smith has attended SEAK expert witness training and has experience and competency in the following areas:

• Patent Invalidity/Non-infringement
• Patent Infringement/Validity
• Prior Art Searching
• Claim Construction
• Product Liability
• Personal Injury
• Failure Reconstruction
• Safety

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Major areas of focus and expertise include: aerial lifts, boom lifts, bucket trucks, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, trailers, end dumps, side dumps, belly dumps, flat beds, goose neck trailers, 5th wheel trailers, trailer safety chains, towing systems, tarping systems, refuse trucks, recycling trucks, rear loaders, side loaders, automated trucks, front loaders, automated side loaders, fall protection, exercise equipment, forklifts, forklift attachments, powered industrial trucks, and telehandlers, rough terrain forklifts, drilling equipment, oil and gas equipment, heavy equipment, construction equipment, conveyors, roller conveyors, belt conveyors, screw conveyors, auger conveyors, hydraulic equipment, manufacturing equipment, consumer products, chairs and seating, stability and tipping, plastic design, zip lines, thrill rides, designing to standards, and design for safety.

Profile

Experienced mechanical engineer (MS, PE) with seven issued patents. Award winning inventor. President of Alpine Engineering and Design, a mechanical engineering consulting company with clients around the United States ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies. Worked on the development of multiple successful products including among other things: forklifts, forklift attachments, conveyors, aerial lifts, garbage trucks, thrill rides, ziplines, trailers, oil and gas equipment, exercise equipment, manufacturing equipment and multiple consumer products.

Graduated Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Completed a master's of science degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA with an emphasis in product development. Licensed professional engineer (PE) and a certified safety professional in comprehensive practice (CSP). Certified trainer for boom lifts, scissor lifts, rough terrain and counterbalanced forklifts. Nearly two decades of experience in product development, patents, equipment safety and risk assessments.

Experienced expert witness having drafted hundreds of reports/declarations in patent and personal injury cases. Designed and built multiple custom testing devices to obtain data and evaluate opinions. Created multiple demonstratives to explain the mechanics and circumstances of accident sequences and patented devices. Testified in deposition 30+ times and multiple times in trial.

Areas Served

All States

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Licenses

• Professional Mechanical Engineer (PE)
• Utah license # 8645497-2202
• Idaho License #19657
• Certified Safety Professional in Comprehensive Practice (CSP), License # CSP-30707
• Certified Forklift Operator
• Certified Counterbalanced Forklift Operator Trainer
• Certified Rough Terrain Telehandler Operator Trainer
• Certified Aerial Boom Lift Operator Trainer
• Certified Aerial Work Platform (scissor lift) Operator Trainer

Legal Experience & Services

Retained on over 150 cases. Written hundreds of reports. Testified in deposition over 30 times. Multiple times testifying in trial.

Affiliations

• National Safety Council
• Utah Safety Council
• National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM)
• North American Trailer Dealer Association (NATDA)

Qualifications

Licensed Professional Engineer
Licensed Certified Safety Professional
Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering
Certified forklift operator
Certified forklift operator trainer
Certified Train the Trainer for forklift operators
Certified boom lift operator and operator trainer
Certified Scissor lift operator and operator trainer
Certified rough terrain forklift operator and operator trainer

Awards & Honors

Boy Scouts of America Scholarship
Academic Scholarship
Best new product - NATDA trade show
Home Shopping Network Award - Utah Product Powerup
Best new product - Utah Outdoor gear expo

Publications

Peer Reviewed Publications

• Off-axis Stiffness and Piezoresistive Sensing in Large-displacement Linear-motion MEMS (Brigham Young University, Master's Thesis, 2009)
• Piezoresistive Encoders for Ratcheting Actuation Systems (Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, Volume 165, Issue 2, February 2011)
• Design Optimization of a Linear-motion Large-displacement Micro Mechanism for High Off-axis Stiffness (ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences IDETC/CIE 2009)
• Metrics for Evaluation and Design of Large-displacement Linear-motion Compliant Mechanisms (Journal of Mechanical Design, 2012)

Trade Magazine and White Paper Publications

• An Engineering Guide for Trailer Safety Chain Installation, Attachment and Use (White Paper, Linklock.net)
• Your Rear Impact Guard Questions Answered (Tracks Magazine, National Association of Trailer Manufacturers, September/October 2019)

Blog/LinkedIn Articles

• 9 Ways Engineering Analysis Adds Value to Your Manufacturing Operations
• 100% Defense Verdict in Forklift Case – Reviewed by a Mechanical Engineering Expert Witness
• The Safety Cliff
• Take the Handcuffs Off of Your Safety Managers
• What is a Provisional Patent Application?
• 7 Unexpected Lessons from Preparing to Launch a Product on Kickstarter
• 9 Ways to Find Your Next Expert Witness on a Single Cup of Coffee

Professional References

available upon request.

Education

• MBA, Brigham Young University, Emphasis in Product Development (2011)
• Masters of Science, Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University (2011)
Thesis: Off-axis Stiffness and Piezoresistive Sensing in Large-displacement Linear-motion MEMS
Areas of study: Compliant Mechanisms, Springs, Structural Analysis, MEMS, Stress and Deflection analysis, FEA, Machine Design, Product Development
• Bachelor's of Science, Brigham Young University - Idaho, Mechanical Engineering
Cum Laude Graduate