Accident reconstruction is the task of determining how an accident occurred. In the case of automotive accidents, it bases its analysis on information about the vehicles, and about the scene of the accident. An accident reconstructionist must have a thorough knowledge of physics, especially mechanics. The accident reconstruction provides essential information such as speeds, changes in speed, and directions of force to the biomechanical analysis.
The types of accident reconstruction cases we handle are:
- Vehicular accidents
- Low speed or high speed accidents
- Auto, truck, big rigs, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, SUVs
- Pedestrian
- Rollovers
- Recreational and sports accidents
- Skiing
- Water sports
- Gym equipment
Biomechanics of Accidents
Biomechanics of Accidents, or bodily injury reconstruction, is the biomechanical analysis of accidental injury. An expert in biomechanics analyzes the accident and the resulting injuries in order to determine injury causation. In the context of accidents, biomechanics applies the laws of physics and the principles of mechanical engineering to determine the forces acting upon a body, and the forces’ effects upon the body as a result of trauma.
Bodily injury reconstruction obtains essential information from the accident reconstruction. The accident reconstruction precedes the biomechanical analysis. A biomechanical specialist must have a thorough knowledge of physics, the mechanics of materials and the anatomy of the human body.
In our practice, we investigate injury causation issues which occur as a result of automotive and non-automotive accidents. The types of accidents that we deal with are those mentioned above in the accident reconstruction section, except that here we deal with the biomechanical issues of the accidents. In a given case, we may be asked to address accident reconstruction issues, biomechanical issues, or both.
Typical biomechanical issues addressed are:
- Automotive and non-automotive accidents
- Bone and soft tissue injuries
- Head and neck injuries
- Back and vertebral column injuries, including disc herniations
- Upper and lower extremities injuries
- Rotator cuff and knee injuries
Typical Issues Addressed
Following is a partial list of issues we encounter in our work.
- Automotive related accidents
- Recreational and sports accidents
- Determination of velocities in vehicular collisions
- Did the driver of a vehicle have time to avoid the accident?
- Determination of accelerations to which the human body was subject to during a collision
- Determination of the biomechanics of the accident by analysis of injury
- Are injuries consistent with the mechanics of the accident?
- Analysis of low speed collisions
- Vehicular-pedestrian accidents
- What causes truck, forklift or crane overturns?
- Should an airbag have been deployed during a collision?
- How could an accident have been prevented?