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Case of the Month
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Case of the Month: Slab Cracks
A home built in 1989 was offered for sale in 2009 and purchased by a young couple. The house was on a relatively flat lot, approximately two feet above the street. It was a single story, wood framed home and was stuccoed on a concrete slab-on-grade foundation. Roof drainage was to the surrounding yards and planters which were located below the roof eaves. The interior floors were carpeted and the interior walls had been freshly painted. There were no significant wall cracks noted. After the sale, but before moving in, the buyers decided to replace the old carpet with new. When the carpet contractor pulled up the old carpet, many serious cracks in the concrete slab-on-grade floor were exposed.
The buyers had a number of contractors look at the problem as well as a structural engineer, who recommended a soil investigation. At that point, GEI was called to inspect the insured’s site to 1) identify the cause and 2) determine the approximate age of cracks in the slab. |
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Case of the Month
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Case of the Month: An Unwanted Air Bag Deployment The owner of a Volkswagen Passat decided that he would buy a cool new GPS navigation unit to spruce up his ride. He went to the local professional grade aftermarket specialty stereo dealer, selected an appropriate model, and then paid for the Navigation Head Unit and the installation. 
After the installation, he turned in a parking lot, and BANG!!! the driver’s side air bag deployed. He was slightly injured. The allegation was that the stereo store had negligently installed the GPS Nav Unit, which caused the air bag to deploy. GEI was assigned to answer the question, “Why did the air bag deploy?” |
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Case of the Month
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Case of the Month: A Van Rollover A group of friends rented a new passenger van from a national rental company. They started in Seattle and drove 800 miles to Idaho Falls. When it was time to return, they then drove those 800 miles back home. As they approached the end of their journey, per the driver, a tire blew out and the van rolled. The vehicle was totaled. One troubling fact was that when the van was initially brought out to them at the rental site, one of the tires was flat. It was "repaired" just prior to their departure. GEI was assigned to inspect and photograph the van to identify any manufacturing, mechanical, or service defects or failures which could have caused or contributed to the accident. |
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Case of the Month
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Case of the Month: A Crumbly Track The insured company was in the business of installing running track surfaces for high school and collegiate athletic stadiums. The process was to grade the earth, lay down a layer of small, ground up, recycled rubber from tires, spray the surface with a mixture of latex and polyurethane, wait two days for the mixture to cure, and then use the track. After two weeks, a newly installed track at a high school was still sticky and the rubber bits were crumbing under the weight of the runners. GEI was contacted to determine the cause of failure of the curing process. |
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Case of the Month
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Case of the Month: An Electrical Sign Fire The insured had a business located on a busy city street, not far from a freeway. To advertise to the swarm of passing potential customers, they erected a 30 foot tall sign, advertising their services. A half dozen years passed. Then the sign caught fire, and was badly damaged. GEI was called in to answer the question, “What really happened?” |
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