Animations are useful visual tools that can help jurors understand how an incident could, or could not, have occurred. Simply describing an event in court, or showing still pictures, may be insufficient to explain a complex sequence of events. Animations tend to capture the juror's attention and facilitate their remembering an image that you want them to understand and recall easily. Animations also allow you to observe an accident from a variety of vantage points, putting the viewer in the driver's seat to see what the participants saw. Often, an effective animation is valuable during mediation and can prompt a settlement based on its expected impact with a jury.
We have experience in many aspects of animation including:
Through scientific analysis, we can help you answer pertinent questions such as:
Fall Over Low Wall:
A hotel guest fell over a low outside wall into a 14' pit and broke his neck when he backed up a few steps to observe a low flying plane overhead. The hotel owners offered the victim $1.5 million. Not satisfied with this offer, the man's attorney turned to Drs. Ojalvo and Yanowitz to develop a computer model and animation of the event. After viewing their dynamically accurate video recreation of this event, the hotel agreed to close the case for $4.5 million.
Rear Seated Sedan Passenger:
A woman seated in the rear of a sedan claimed that she was severely injured when the car she was riding in went off the exit ramp and rolled onto the unpaved side of the road. We performed an accident reconstruction and created animations of the vehicle's roll for scenarios of the passenger with and without her seatbelt. These animations convinced the Plaintiff to settle the case since they revealed that she could not have been wearing her seatbelt.
Kristopher J. Seluga, PE, is a Mechanical Engineering, Accident Reconstruction, Biomechanics, and Safety Expert with over 20 years of experience. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT where he worked on the development of novel three-dimensional printing technologies. Mr. Seluga is also a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and Connecticut, and has served as a member of the ANSI engineering committee for the Z130.1 and Z135 standards for golf cars and PTV's. His research interests and peer reviewed publications span the topics of Motor Vehicle Dynamics, Product Safety, and Biomechanics.
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7/31/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Engineering Experts: Power Saws
Approximately 125,000 serious injuries occur in the US each year related to the use of portable and fixed power saws. Lacerations and similar injuries, such as abrasions and avulsions, account for over 90% of these, which generally occur to males and result in losses in the tens of millions of dollars annually.
7/31/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Engineering Experts: Machine Guarding
The primary function of all guarding is to prevent an operator or bystander from being injured by a potentially dangerous portion of a machine. Often the hazard involves moving parts with the potential to cut, crush or draw-in body parts, although barrier guards may also be necessary when electrical, thermal or chemical dangers are present.
7/31/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Engineering Experts: Seatbelts
Motor vehicle seatbelt use provides highly effective protection in frontal collisions for impact angles up to 30 degrees off-center (i.e. between 11 and 1 o’clock). All states have laws requiring their use for front seat passengers, as they have been shown to reduce moderate to severe injuries by 50%. They are less effective when your car is hit in the rear or side and sometimes their locking devices malfunction or the anchorage gives way.
