Biomechanics

In our forensic casework it’s not unusual for all parties to acknowledge that a mishap occurred, but disagree on the cause or severity of injuries claimed to be associated with the event. In this article, we discuss injury causation investigations through the example of an incident in which the plaintiff was struck by merchandise falling from a retail display shelf.

In this article, expert witnesses specializing in pediatric biomechanics and child supervision discuss the standards and guidelines relevant to playground injuries associated with monkey bars and track rides. The discussion includes background information on injury statistics, biomechanics, and child behavior that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other organizations consider during the development of standards/guidelines for safe playgrounds.

The experts at Robson Forensic are frequently retained to investigate injuries and assaults that occur on public and private playgrounds. The experts involved in these cases bring specific expertise in playgrounds, complemented by a background in biomechanics, child supervision, or architecture depending on the demands of each case.

An injury causation analysis can often verify whether or not events took place as described by witnesses. It can also be used to determine if the use/misuse of protective equipment played a role in the cause of an injury. In this article, biomedical engineer, Valentina Ngai, Ph.D., P.Eng., provides an introduction to injury causation analyses in sports incidents.

When injury causation is in dispute following a pedestrian strike incident, a biomechanical reconstruction of the event is sometimes necessary to confirm or refute eye-witness testimony. In this article, biomechanical expert Carolyne Albert provides an overview of the methodology and type of information that can be determined in these investigations through the lens of an actual incident.

Conflicting testimony in bicycle vs. vehicle collisions can often be resolved through a biomechanical analysis of the injuries. In this article, Mechanical Engineer & Biomechanics Expert, Dr. Carolyne Albert describes how engineering and physics can be used to scientifically answer questions about the mechanics of bicycle collision incidents and injuries.

In this document, the biomechanical engineers at Robson Forensic provide an introduction to some of the foundational principles relevant to the science of traumatic brain injuries. The discussion includes how these incidents are investigated and the many expert solutions Robson Forensic can bring to bear.

In this case, a security guard was badly scalded by hot water from an outdoor hose bibb. Robson Forensic was retained to explain the biomechanics of scalds and opine on the victim’s ability to detect the temperature and avoid injury.

In this article, biomedical engineer, Valentina Ngai discusses the process by which it is possible to reconstruct an incident by examining injury data. In this instance, Dr. Ngai was tasked with determining the way in which the plaintiff fell down a set of stairs.

Over five thousand American workers were killed on the job in 2016.¹ Over the same period, almost three million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported in the private sector.² Every day, workplace incidents result in traumatic injuries such as fractures, amputations, sprains, tears, lacerations, punctures, contusions, and brain injuries.

Biomechanical analysis of injury causation can help resolve disputes regarding workplace incidents related to premises safety, equipment safety, and biomechanical hazards. A knowledgeable biomechanical expert can draw upon principles of physics and engineering to shed light on whether the loading necessary to cause a diagnosed injury was present in a claimed event.

In this article, Dr. Carolyne Albert provides a brief overview of biomechanical investigations involving three common types of workplace injury-causing events: falls, overloading, and contact with objects and equipment.

Peter Leiss, P.E. and Jamie Williams, Ph.D. of Robson Forensic, Inc. were interviewed by WGAL to discuss their findings related to a recent child safety seat study.

In this article, biomechanical engineer, Dr. Valentina Ngai provides an introductory lesson on forensic gait analysis. She discusses how experts use injury data, combined with an understanding of the human gait, to determine what happened in unwitnessed or disputed incidents. Analyses of this type are frequently used to determine the fall mechanism (such as slip or trip), as well as if, how and possibly in what sequence the pathologic loading occurred.

This article discusses the process by which it is possible to reconstruct an incident by examining injury data. In this instance, our biomedical engineer was tasked with determining the manner in which the deceased encountered the electrical source.

Engineers and scientists at Robson Forensic, Inc. crash-tested three popular rear-facing infant car seats to compare the risk of head injury when using the Lower Anchor and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system as compared to seatbelts during rear-end collisions. The LATCH system was required in all vehicles made after September 1, 2002 and intended to make installation of rear and forward-facing child safety seats easier. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website, use of the LATCH system provides equal protection as compared to using the vehicle’s seatbelts.

In this article, biomechanics expert, Carolyne Albert introduces the fundamental concepts pertaining to the mechanics of bone injuries. The biomechanical experts at Robson Forensic are engaged when the cause or mechanism of an injury is not known, is not understood, or is in dispute.

In this article, the experts at Robson Forensic discuss the typical components of a vehicle-pedestrian collision and delve into specialty technical issues that are frequently relevant to these incidents.

The experts involved in investigating a pedestrian strike vary as much as the cases themselves. While typically rooted in crash reconstruction or roadway engineering, these cases regularly involve experts specializing in human factors, biomechanical engineering, meteorology, premises safety, or toxicology. Contact us to discuss your case with a relevant technical expert.

Experts at Robson Forensic were involved in a lengthy trial, in which a federal judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff. In this case, a 58-year-old deckhand employed on a tugboat was crushed to death when entrapped in the capstan of the boat by a towline under great pressure during an improperly conducted “swing maneuver.”