By: Dr. Irving Ojalvo
Tel: (800) 358-9909
Fax: (888) 358-9901
Email: Dr. Ojalvo
| Second only to automobile accidents, falls are the leading cause of injury and deaths. Of these, accidents due to slipping or tripping form a large proportion. Slips and trips occur on floors, streets, walkways, stairs, etc. Although both slips and trips result in falls, they are otherwise quite different. A slip is associated with insufficient resistance between a foot and the walking surface, while a trip involves much more resistance than the victim had anticipated. A third type of fall results from a loss of balance. This can occur when one expects a surface to provide support, but it does not, such as while descending a staircase with an unanticipated long rise height step. |
Expertise | Questions Answered |
We have a vast amount of experience in many aspects of fall downs including:
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Case Examples | |
| Exterior Staircase Fall Down: After exiting a building, an elderly woman descended an outdoor, wooden, wide set of stairs. While doing so, she lost her balance, fell, and was seriously injured. Upon inspection, we determined that the rise height of the step where she fell was a half-inch higher than the previous steps. In addition, there was no handrail nearby. Both these items represented significant hazards and building code violations. The defendant settled the lawsuit after receiving our report. |
Dr. Irving Ojalvo is Chairman of Technology Associates (www.technology-assoc.com), a forensic engineering firm with offices in New York City and Connecticut. The firm's technical personnel, all of whom have advanced degrees, perform accident reconstruction involving issues of biomechanics, mechanical, traffic, and human factors engineering.
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7/22/2009· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Forensic Engineering Experts: Whiplash
A car is stopped for a light when it is unexpectedly rear-ended causing little or no damage to either vehicle. Nevertheless, the passengers of the struck vehicle complain of neck, shoulder and back pain. Insurance claim representatives, attorneys, medical, engineering and biomedical experts are then brought in and various conflicting allegations, testimony and opinions are expressed.
9/6/2017· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Case Study: Retained by Plaintiff Injured Motorist
By: Richard Beaubien
A motorist exiting a rural freeway was struck by a motorist on the intersecting State Route at the top of the exit ramp. At the westbound exit ramp from the Interstate freeway the State Route a stop sign is posted at the end of the ramp requiring exiting traffic to stop before entering the State Route. However, the eastbound off ramp traffic is not required to stop before entering the State Route. A stop sign is posted on southbound State Route at the ramp terminal. This is an unusual traffic signing pattern for interstate off ramps. Expert observations of the operation of this intersection showed that a large proportion of the eastbound off ramp traffic slowed down at the end of the ramp, expecting to stop at the State Route.
4/14/2015· Accident Investigation & Reconstruction
Schoolbus Crossing: Safety and Security Part 1
By: Ned Einstein
In the last installment (STN, Jun, 2007), I stressed the importance of distinguishing between an actual bus stop and the waiting area across the street from it in terms of safety. But the selection of the stop and waiting area also involves concerns for student security. Sometimes, there are trade-offs that must be made. These trade-off are often complex and subtle. But they must be made correctly.
