Expert Witnessing
Our technical expertise in the test field has been engaged
by attorneys who are interested in an unbiased test of technology related
products. We can provide technical assistance and to defend our
expert opinion in depositions and in trial. Our engineers have been
accepted by State and Federal Courts as experts in a number of
cases.
Technical Expert Witnessing and Discovery Work
A.T.E. (Advanced Test Engineering) Solutions, Inc. has helped
attorneys in cases involving electronic products for many years. These pages
shed some light on why your case could use our expertise. For answers, click on
the appropriate questions:
An Electronics Test Engineer is someone who stands between the company's
manufacturing department and its customers, by ensuring that a product is fault
free before it goes out to customers. Similarly, a Test Engineer ensures that
when an electronics product fails at the user's site that the failure is
properly noted, properly diagnosed, and properly repaired. For large volume
manufacturers, test engineers usually work with automated test equipment (ATE) -
a computerized testing machine - which the test engineer programs to reflect the
proper function and failure modes of the product undergoing tests.
Most major electronics manufacturers today use ATE for both production and
repair. To cause an ATE to comprehensively test a product and to correctly
diagnose the failure, the test engineer must have a good understanding of the
circuit design and of the failure mechanism. He/she must then create tests that
will enable the ATE to properly expose failures.
A test engineer often understands the circuit better than the person who
designed it and has expertise to analyze circuit functions as well as causes of
malfunctions. In product liability cases involving the failure of a product the
attorney wants to determine the cause of the failure as well as the origin of
the failure. Was the failure a result of misuse, poor design, poor
manufacturing, poor shipping, or other causes? In intellectual property cases,
the ability of a test engineer to perform deep levels of analysis can help
determine whether a patent or copyright has been infringed. A test engineer is
also the best person to value the technical merits of a complex electronic
product.
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- Test Engineers are expert
Electronics Engineers, familiar with the functionality of all types of
electronic circuits.
- Test Engineers are used by
manufacturers of electronics to program automated test equipment (ATE) so
that the ATE can test large volumes of products in a short time.
- Test Engineers can assess
whether manufacturing testing was sufficient and appropriate for the
product.
- Test Engineers can assess
whether a product was designed properly and whether it was designed in a
manner that would prevent some faults from being discovered through tests.
- Test Engineers are experts at
correlating advertised capabilities with what the circuit can actually do.
- Test Engineers are able to
provide forensic analysis of circuits to determine causes of failures.
- Test Engineers are used by
field service organizations to program automated test equipment (ATE) for
diagnosing the actual failing part in an electronic system.
- Test Engineers are not simply
troubleshooters. They identify sources and causes of problems in a
scientific manner, which do well in court and withstand tough cross
examination.
- Test Engineers can assess
whether something was properly diagnosed and repaired.
- Test Engineers can compare
circuits for functionality and testify about similarities and differences
for patent, copyright and intellectual property cases.
- Test Engineers can evaluate a
circuit for its behavior under certain faulty conditions which can assist
attorneys in product liability cases.
- Test Engineers can assist in
valuing electronic products, because of their understanding of
state-of-the-art designs.
Almost any case that requires analysis of electronics products can utilize a
Test Engineer for Discovery or Testimony. Typical cases in which attorneys
called for our expertise:
- A copyright infringement case
involving the design of state-of-the-art computer memory boards. While no
patent issues were involved, we were asked to determine and testify about
copyright infringement on the way the circuit design documentation was
generated.
- A case where a design project
that progressed to the point of completion was canceled by a Fortune 500
company alleging that insufficient progress was made in the design of
electronics.
- A case of alleged forgery of a
document performed by utilizing the accuracy of a computerized dot-matrix
printer to overwrite and alter an already signed document.
- We were asked to determine
similarities and differences between two versions of an automatic test
equipment used to test avionics (airplane electronics).
- Evaluation of alleged use of
CB radios by truckers to interfere with the readings on an electronic scale
at a weighing station.
- Assessed damage to an alarm
system controlling a multi-level building caused by a pipe burst flooding
the controlling mechanism.
- Worked for the defense in a
case where an electrician disconnected power to a building which allegedly
caused serious problems to programs resident on the hard disk of a personal
computer.
- Assessed value of a product
used by test engineers.
- Worked for the plaintiff in a
case involving a hearing loss due to alleged telephone malfunction.
- Prepared analyses for
attorneys on capabilities of various test instruments.
- Assisted an attorney on
manufacturing processes and how test fits into them.
- Worked in a case involving
criminal activity of someone alleged to have sold sophisticated test
equipment to a foreign country restricted from receiving US technology.
- Test software to find our
whether it met functional requirements.
- Worked for the plaintiff in a
case involving repackaging of one manufacturer's integrated circuit (chip)
in a package that indicated that it was manufactured by someone else. Our
tests helped determine who the actual manufacturer was.
- Worked on a number of cases
involving product liability assessed against manufacturers, designers and
service depots for failing products.
- Evaluated products' value
based on design documentation.
Generally, expert testimony is provided by Louis Y. Ungar, President of A.T.E.
Solutions, Inc. While other experts may assist him in his work he is the primary
expert used in most cases.
For a full curriculum vitae, please contact:
Louis Y. Ungar
A.T.E. Solutions, Inc.
8939 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 110-779
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Tel: (310) 822-5231 FAX: (310) 305-7703
E-mail: LouisUngar@ieee.org
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