Fluent Essays

Description The homework this week should be formatted as an essay, and not as a response to each question.  In formatting your essay, you should use the Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion (IRAC) method. You must make full use of the facts, expert testimony and relevant law, including specifically using the but-for test. Read carefully, think, and plan before writing your answers.  Give yourself plenty of time to do a draft and then review and revise your draft into a polished finished product.  Allow enough time to do this assignment well.  You cannot do a good job if you wait until the last minute or think you can do this in an hour.  This is a former exam question; it makes good sense to practice well before the midterm. For the class exercise you will be assigned roles or you may be put into juries. Bring a copy of your response or make sure you have access to it during the class exercise. Questions and order they should be addressed in your essay response: What is the soil engineer’s general professional duty of care?  State fully the specific professional standard of care for the circumstances of this case that Haverley was obliged to follow. Did Haverley breach the standard of care?  Why or why not?  If you find that Haverley breached the standard of care, was his breach an actual cause of Maku’s death?  If you find that Haverley breached the standard of care and was an actual cause of Maku’s death, was his breach a proximate cause of Maku’s death.  Once again, make full use of the facts, expert testimony and relevant law, including specifically using the foreseeability test. Was Maku negligent in whole or in part for his own death?  Make full use of the facts and relevant law, including comparative fault under the ordinary standard of care.EGR 4050: Role of Design Professionals in Society 1/3 EGR 4050 Negligence In-Class Exercise BACKGROUND Trench digging is one of the oldest types of construction work documented in history. Prior to World War II, trenches were dug by hand. As workers dug trenches deeper, the sides of the trench had to be shored, or supported, to keep the walls of the trench from collapsing. Following the war, innovations were made in cable backhoes, and trench digging disappeared as an established profession. By the 1950s, hydraulic backhoes were developed, making it possible to rapidly dig very deep trenches. As a result of backhoe innovations, and because there were no workers inside the trenches during digging, trench walls were no longer shored. All trenches have what is known as a stand-up time. The stand-up time is the time that elapses from the time the trench is dug until the trench walls start collapsing. Stand-up time is dependent on many factors, including soil type, water content, trench depth, weather conditions, and whether or not the soil has been previously disturbed. Stand-up times can be as short as zero seconds or as long as several months, and are difficult to predict. Before trenches are dug, someone can take soil samples as a means of estimating stand-up time; however, soil conditions can be dramatically disparate only a few feet from where the soil sample was taken. After a trench is dug, workers go down into the trench, performing whatever work is necessary, such as laying pipe or telephone lines, welding pipe, or installing valves. If the walls of the trench are not supported, there is the possibility that the walls will collapse and trap the workers in the trench (see view of trench contained on the following page). Historically, there have been between 100 and 300 people killed in the United States every year due to trench collapses. The state of Texas usually leads the nation in this statistic. A trench box (also called a trench shield) may be placed in the trench to prevent trench failures from injuring workers. A trench box consists of two large plates, usually made of steel, which are parallel to the walls of the trench, and horizontal cross-members that hold the two plates apart. The lower edge of the box rests on the bottom of the trench, and the top edge extends above the tope of the trench. The workers stay between the plates of the trench box, so that if the wall of the trench collapses, the trench box will stop the dirt from falling on the workers. As work progresses, the trench box is pulled along the trench with a backhoe. Due to the added expense of using the trench box, many contractors are reluctant to use them. They know that if a worker is killed or injured in a trench wall collapse, Workmans Compensation will cover all medical expenses and reimburse the families of the deceased workers. The contractors cannot be sued civilly for negligence or wron