Curriculum Vitae
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Biography of Bill Kitzes
Bill Kitzes has over 30 years of research and experience at the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Institute for Safety Analysis and Consumer Safety Associates, where he currently serves as Principal Safety Analyst and Product Safety Manager. Mr. Kitzes is a Board Certified Product Safety Manager and Hazard Control Manager, and holds a Certificate in Safety Management from the American Society of Safety Engineers. He has testified in over 90 trials in more than 25 states, Canada and Australia.
From 1974 to 1981, Mr. Kitzes worked at the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). For 3 years, he served as Legal Advisor to the Director, Office of Product Defect Identification, and was responsible for identifying product defects, implementing recalls and developing voluntary corrective action plans under Section 15 of the Consumer Product Safety Act.
As CPSC Program Manager for Sports, Recreation and Power Equipment (1977-1980), Mr. Kitzes directed the application of injury statistics, engineering data, and foreseeable consumer use to achieve a reduction in injuries, through standards, warnings, and safety education campaigns. He led the development of the Federal Safety Standard for Walk-Behind Power Lawn Mowers (16 CFR 1205) in 1979. Mr. Kitzes served as Commission representative to various standards development committees, including American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM).
Mr. Kitzes has been retained as a consultant for a number of major manufacturers, including the Toro Company on product safety issues, the Vendo Company for developing warning labels and safety bulletins, the Jensen Corporation for safe operation of industrial equipment, Nobel Chemical Co. for adequacy of warnings, Corning Glass for evaluation of recalls, BernzOmatic, a division of the Newell Group, for development of point-of-purchase recall displays and advertising, Arctic Cat, Inc. for analysis of all-terrain vehicle off-road safety, including instructions, warnings and foreseeable use, and Visioneer, Inc. in developing a program to upgrade computer scanners. He has developed a program for Global Industries to improve executive chair stability, reviewed warnings on heavy equipment for Daewoo Heavy Industries America, investigated safety issues for Carson Industries, Inc. and assisted CISCO Systems in recall development. Bill has designed a warning label for Whisper Communications, Inc., and assisted Wham-O, Inc. in recall procedures. He has provided risk analysis, recall assistance and consumer warnings and instructions to Restoration Hardware, Inc. and has developed warnings for Plastics Research Corp. concerning use of decorative building materials as protective barriers. He has reviewed advertising and promotional material for ACH Foods and assisted Hilton Hotels on recall issues. Bill has advised Swimways Corporation on product safety management and warnings.
Mr. Kitzes has served as an advisor to the National Association of Attorneys General, the State of New York and is Chairman of the Florida Consumers’ Council. He is the author of numerous articles in professional journals, including: Standards, Regulations and Safety Guidelines to Protect Children from Injury, Children and Injuries, 2001; Risk Analysis in Product Liability Litigation, 2000 Wiley Expert Witness Update; Protecting Our Kids - Everyone Plays a Part, Forum, December 1997; Forensic Safety Analysis: Investigation and Evaluation, 1996 Wiley Expert Witness Update; The Role of the Safety Analyst in Product Liability Litigation, Trial Diplomacy Journal, March/April 1995; Safety Management and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Professional Safety, American Society of Safety Engineers, April 1991; and ATVs -- The Hidden Danger, Journal of Law, Medicine & Health Care, Spring 1989.
Mr. Kitzes has been an active speaker at the National Safety Council and the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization. He writes a column on product safety for CCH Consumer Product Safety Guide.