Lithium-ion battery fire

Personalise

Matter overview

A storeroom fire caused damage to the plaintiff’s premises. The plaintiff’s insurer sought an investigation to determine whether the battery of a cordless vacuum cleaner was the cause.

Expert retained

Unisearch engaged a leading UNSW academic in battery research and development. With extensive industry experience, the expert specialised in 18650 cells and battery structure-property relationships. They were a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Society and co-founder of the Australian Battery Society.

Expert's role

The expert analysed the evidence of spontaneous combustion and provided a report outlining the likely sequence of events and fire origin. Their report explained the structure of the lithium-ion cells in the battery pack and the degradation mechanisms that could have contributed to the incident.

Other case studies

Medico-legal

Our client was acting for a worker’s compensation insurer and requested an expert to opine on any causal relationship between a claimed visual impairment resulting from recent vaccinations.

Mechanical engineering

The plaintiff alleged that they and an employee of the property owner were attempting to close a security gate which had malfunctioned, and as a result it fell and crushed the plaintiff.

Boating & maritime

Unisearch provided a marine engineer with extensive expertise in maritime accidents and vessel engineering, including contributions to Standards committees.

Experts are drawn from Unisearch’s extensive, and often exclusive, knowledge bank. The panel comprises unrivalled academics and renowned industry leaders drawn from Australia’s leading universities, commercial enterprises and independent consultancies.

Follow