Our motor vehicle experts aren’t just mechanical engineers and reconstructionists, they have direct, professional experience in the design, development, and manufacture of vehicles of all sizes. Our motor vehicle team includes engineers whose careers have been in the development and implementation of tires, driver aids, and safety systems. We also have experts who specialize in engineering and crash reconstruction matters involving trucks, buses, motorcycles, trains, pedestrians and bicycles.
Many of our motor vehicle experts have project cars, hot rods, and race cars outside of the office. Vehicles aren’t a job, they are also our passion.
Our motor vehicle experts are supported by specialists in areas that impact vehicle-related incidents such as conspicuity, lighting, heavy vehicle operation, fleet management, meteorology, biomechanics, human factors, toxicology, and liquor liability.
Please visit one of our motor vehicle sub-practice pages to the left for additional information on our available experts. You may also contact any of our experts directly for assistance finding the most appropriate expert for your case.
We work hard to find hard answers.
From complex crash reconstruction to developing demonstrative evidence for court testimony, our experts have in-depth knowledge of how vehicles work, regulations affecting truck operations, highway design, operation and maintenance, as well as specialized skills in driver behavior, road conditions and construction work zones.
The diverse training and experience within the motor vehicle practice group allows our experts to identify factors and parties that may have contributed to the cause of a crash, including repair shops, car dealers, and vehicle manufacturers.
- Low Speed Collision - Experts Reconstruct Crash to Determine Injury Causation
Robson Forensic was retained to determine if the forces generated in a two car, same direction crash were sufficient to cause injuries. The Plaintiff was driving slowly, approaching a stoplight, when the Defendant changed lanes and collided with the Plaintiff’s right front fender. Crash Reconstruction Expert, Steven J. Becker, reconstructed the crash to determine the speed and duration of the collision and calculated the change in velocity. Biomechanical Engineering Expert, Jamie R. Williams, Ph.D., then evaluated Plaintiff medical records and using Becker’s calculations, determined that the forces generated by the collision were insufficient to cause the Plaintiff’s injuries.
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- Vehicle Repair – Expert Investigates Engine Failure to Determine Cause
Robson Forensic was retained to determine if a Dodge engine failure was the result of an improper repair. The engine of a 2002 Dodge Intrepid with approximately 100,000 miles seized during highway driving only a few days after an Auto Shop had changed the oil. Opposing experts determined that the failure was caused by an improper repair. Vehicle Engineering Expert, Steven J. Becker, disassembled the engine to inspect the damage and the oil. He concluded that the engine failed as a result of a broken connecting rod, which subsequently broke the oil pan, causing the oil loss that seized the engine.
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- Inattentive Driving – Expert Investigates Pedestrian Strike in Crosswalk
A woman and her daughter were caught in the crosswalk of a busy intersection when the traffic light changed. The Defendant accelerated from the opposite side of the intersection and impacted the Plaintiff and her daughter. Robson Forensic was retained to determine if the Defendant’s driving was improper in a manner that caused the collision. Crash Reconstruction Expert, Steven J. Becker, reconstructed the collision to determine the speed of the Defendant’s truck and demonstrated how the Defendant was driving inattentively and caused the collision.
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- PennDOT Settles Rural Intersection Collision Case for $200K
A two-vehicle, intersection collision occurred at a rural intersection. Robson Forensic determined corner sight distance was grossly substandard and a cause of the collision.
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- Aggravated Vehicular Homicide – Expert Reconstruction Demonstrates Innocence
The driver of a Chevrolet Camaro lost control of his vehicle around a curve, skidded into the oncoming traffic lane, and was hit broadside by a Ford Escort. The front seat passenger in the Camaro was killed. Accident reconstruction by the State Police estimated the Camaro’s speed at 47 mph when it lost control; based on these findings the driver was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide. Robson Forensic was retained to reconstruct the crash and determine if the driver of the Camaro acted improperly in a manner that caused the death of the front seat passenger.
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- Vehicular Homicide - Expert Reconstructs SUV-Pedestrian Collision
A mother was struck and killed by an approaching SUV while jogging with her two children in a stroller. The driver of the SUV may or may not have failed to stop at a Stop sign, causing the collision. Evidence of marijuana was found in the SUV. The driver of the SUV faced charges of vehicular homicide and vehicular homicide while under the influence. Robson Forensic vehicle engineering expert, Tom Lacek, P.E., was retained to reconstruct the crash to determine the driver’s impact speed and the victim’s pre-impact location when the driver began to react to the impending collision.
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- Highway Construction – Expert Investigates Collision with Construction Vehicle
A driver was injured when her car collided with a construction vehicle on a state highway. The construction vehicle exited a work zone from a median crossover between the northbound and southbound travel lanes and entered directly into the passing lane in the southbound direction. The injured driver crashed into the back of the construction vehicle. Robson Forensic experts were retained to determine the cause(s) of the incident.
This case settled favorably for our client before trial.
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- Construction Detour - Expert Investigates Fatal Work Zone Collision
This bicycle/motor vehicle construction work zone collision resulted in the fatality of the bicycle driver. Liability was established against both the construction contractor and the design engineering firm.
We determined that the collision occurred when the bicycle driver, while riding on a long-established pedestrian/bike path adjacent to a 4-lane thoroughfare, and upon entering the construction work zone, traveled into the oncoming motor vehicle travel lane and was struck by an automobile.
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- Construction Signage - Expert Investigates Single-Vehicle Crash in Work Zone
This single-vehicle construction work zone collision resulted in serious injury to a passenger. Liability was established against both the construction contractor and the construction inspection firm.
We determined that: the collision occurred due to the car traveling at high speed and the road surface changing from paved to dirt/gravel as a result of construction activity; the crash occurred within a long-term construction work site; the only construction sign encountered by the driver in his approach to the work site was a Road Work Ahead sign; the street where the work was underway was used as a “cut through” by non-local traffic; the persistent high-speed non-local traffic through the construction site was dangerous to both the construction workers and the traffic; the contractor and the construction inspection firm were aware of, or should have been aware of, the speeding through-traffic prior to the collision, but made no change to the traffic control plan. Based on the facts and in accordance with standards for work zone traffic control, our expert opined that the contractor and the construction inspection firm: should have taken effective steps to detour the non-local traffic; and that the failure of the contractor and the construction inspection firm to employ reasonable and established measures to effectively close the street under construction to through traffic was improper and a substantial cause of the collision and resulting injury. The case settled during mediation.
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- Fatal Tractor-Trailer Accident Results in $3.5 Million Verdict
Brooks Rugemer - Commercial Trucking Specialist
A federal jury awarded nearly $3.5 million to the widow of a 26-year-old man who was killed instantly when the tractor-trailer he was repairing lurched forward because
the driver allegedly pressed the ignition button while it was still in gear.
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- Trailer Collapse - Expert Tests Structure with Cardboard Analog
Throughout her career in design and development, Vehicle Engineer Erin Shipp, P.E. has used simple cardboard analogs to understand structures and how they fail. When she was retained for a case involving a Semi-Trailer that collapsed under the load of a forklift, she used a cardboard analog to simulate the failure.
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- Fatal, Hit-Pedestrian, Night Time Collision
This is a fatal, hit-pedestrian, night time collision. The pedestrian walked in front of a SUV that pulled into the middle lane to make a left turn and then out in front of a car passing the turning SUV. We reconstructed the events of the collision and determined that the pedestrian walked out in front of the driver within the driver’s reasonable perception reaction time. The driver did not have enough time or distance to avoid collision. The cause of this collision was the pedestrian walking out in front of the driver. The driver’s actions were not improper in a manner that was a cause of the crash. The case settled at mediation.
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- An Introduction to Electronic Stability Control
Presentation developed by the automotive engineers at Robson Forensic, provides an overview on Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems, including information on how ESC systems work, their abilities and limitations.
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- Determining Past Weather Conditions and their Effects on Motor Vehicle Cases
Dr. Raymond Lee delivered this presentation to the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on October 2, 2009.
Dr. Lee is an expert in meteorology and visibility. He applies this expertise to the investigation of matters involving personal injury or economic loss.
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- Defense Verdict in High Speed Crash
A jury found in favor of the County in a single vehicle run off the road crash on a County road. When the plaintiff rounded a curve to the left, his right wheels went off the pavement and he lost control, swerving across the roadway before striking a utility pole.
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- Robson Forensic Case Reports: Crash Reconstruction
Our vehicle crash group consists of reconstruction experts and highway engineers supported by specialists in areas that impact vehicle-related incidents such as conspicuity, illumination, visibility, materials science, meterorology, biomechanical and human factors
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- Vehicle Turn Radius - Expert Diagram of a Vehicle on a 31 Foot Turn
Diagram of vehicle on a 31 foot turn radius.
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- In 2007 Motor Vehicle Collisions Resulted in Excess of 40,000 Fatalities
In 2007 motor vehicle collisions resulted in excess of 40,000 fatalities
and almost 2,500,000 injuries, according to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration’s website. It is often important to
determine both how a crash occurred and the underlying causes
of both the crash and resultant injury.
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- Boat Collision - Expert Investigation into Criminal Charges Resulting from Death
A woman passenger was killed and three others were injured when a power boat collided with a personal watercraft (PWC). Robson Forensic was retained to reconstruct the collision
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- Settlement in Two-Vehicle Crash Involving Police Cruiser and Limited Evidence
When a taxi was struck on the left rear side by a police cruiser that admittedly ran a red light, one rear passenger was thrown from the car and both rear seat passengers were injured.
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- Alcohol Impairment - Robson Forensic Experts
When alcohol is identified as a factor in an injury incident, it is
often assumed to be the only cause. Our experts determine if
alcohol played a causative or contributing role.
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- Judge Acquits Driver of DUI in Criminal Homicide Case
A settlement was reached in a two-car collision that resulted in the death of a passenger who was 8-months pregnant at the time.
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- Bicycle Crash Reconstruction
Bicycle Crash Reconstruction involves the application of scientific and engineering principles to determine how the incident started and what initiated the loss of control. Vehicle speeds and positions at various times and distances are investigated, as well as the location of vehicles at impact.
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- Robson Forensic Brochure
Robson Forensic has been providing high quality and professional forensic engineering, architectural, scientific and
investigative services throughout the United States since 1987. Robson Forensic provides expertise in a broad range of forensic and technical disciplines.
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