Overview of the Technical Aspects of Vehicle Accident Reconstruction

Attorneys practicing personal injury or products liability law frequently employ technical experts to assist with the engineering and scientific issues of their cases.  Knowledge of what the expert does can lead to much more effective development and use of the expert’s testimony.

This course provides an overview of the technical aspects of vehicle accident reconstruction.  The objective is to introduce the attorney to the steps followed by the accident reconstruction engineer, the information needed to perform the analyses, the technical tools used in the analyses, the interaction of the accident reconstruction engineer with other closely-allied disciplines, and the methods used to communicate results of the analyses.

1. Introduction
   1. Why reconstruct an accident?
   2. What is vehicle accident reconstruction?
2. Objectives
   1. Define steps followed in an investigation
   2. Develop an understanding of the procedures used by an expert
   3. Understand how the evidence is developed
3. Why should you hire an expert?
4. Major steps an expert follows
   1. Collection and review of basic case information
   2. Gathering of data needed for subsequent steps
   3. Analyses and tests
   4. Communication of results
5. Starting a project
   1. Initial review and identification of issues
   2. Initial meeting between attorney and expert
6. Data gathering
   1. Information searches
   2. Accident site inspection
   3. Vehicle and vehicle component inspections
   4. Complaint and interrogatories
7. Analyses and tests
   1. Site reconstruction
   2. Vehicle dynamic analyses
   3. Vehicle and component testing
8. Momentum and energy considerations
9. Special tools
   1. Simulation —two vehicle collision
   2. Simulation — vehicle handling
   3. Photogrammetry
   4. NHTSA crash test database
   5. Additional tools
10. Interaction with other technical disciplines
    1. Injury and biomechanics analyses
    2. Human factors analyses
    3. Vision and visibility analyses
11. ISO 9000 quality control considerations
12. Communication of results
    1. Oral or written reports
    2. Charts, graphs, drawings
    3. Physical models
    4. Engineering animation
    5. “Multi-media” presentations
13. Conclusions