A contractor was hired to make a weld repair to a fatigue crack contained within the crown of a very large hydraulic press which was being used to manufacture aluminum wheels for heavy trucks. The contractor did not understand the need to slowly preheat the entire crown before welding, and the need to slowly cool the entire crown after welding in order to prevent thermal expansion and contraction from causing new and bigger cracks. Predictably, more cracks occurred. The welder defended on the basis that the entire crown was old, badly fatigued and prone to further cracks regardless of what they did. Expert testimony established that the original fatigue crack was very isolated in scope and that the new cracks resulted from poor welding practices, not from fatigue. After years of litigation, the welder paid Stutman Law’s client almost $1.5 million.