Case Study – Incident Investigation

File Issue

• A young claimant suffered significant injuries as a result of having her bare feet exposed to a turning riding lawn tractor blade.
• Our client acted on behalf of the defendant, the owner and operator of the riding lawn tractor.

Pario’s Assignment

• Investigate the scientific and technical issues surrounding the use and operation of a riding lawnmower. The claimant’s investigator used an application on his cell phone to measure the decibel readings of the running lawn tractor.
• Examine the methodology used by the claimant’s investigator which indicated that the parents of the young claimant could not hear the lawn tractor operating in their own backyard.
• Undertake an independent and scientifically supportable test of the decibel levels of the running lawn tractor.

Pario’s Methodology

• Pario experts sourced and acquired a lawn tractor (exact make, year, and model) as the one used by defendant client on the DOL as the original lawnmower had been disposed of some time earlier by our insured.
• Pario re-enacted the circumstances of the events that occurred on the DOL at the location of loss.
• Pario retained an independent and professional sound company, utilising the most modern and accurate equipment to record the decibel levels of the lawn tractor to residents inside the third-party residence.

File Outcome

• As a result of the auditory testing undertaken by Pario, it was determined that the decibel levels recorded at the location of loss were well within the hearing range of the claimant’s parents inside the third-party residence.
• The court accepted Pario’s methodology and findings and assessed a degree of contributory negligence upon the third-party parents for not adequately supervising their daughter.
• The net result was an appreciable reduction in the final amount paid to the claimant under our insured’s policy.