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  • Occupant Kinematics

Occupant kinematics involves the study of occupant motion inside of a vehicle during a crash.  Overall perhaps the best description for this area of study is occupant motion.  Many issues that usually need to be resolved in these cases include: who was driving, position of the occupants, the effect of safety equipment usage or non-usage, mechanism for injury, forces applied to human body structures, low speed impact severity and injury fraud analysis.

This type of case usually necessitates a careful and thorough inspection of the vehicle interior, safety systems, injury descriptions, analysis of the change in velocity (delta v) and principal direction of force.  Of no less importance is a detailed inspection of the exterior of the vehicle and the crash scene itself.  It is vital to have a comprehensive understanding of how the vehicle moved through the crash environment and then predict how occupants would have moved inside the vehicle.  If possible, an understanding of where the occupants were reportedly seated and their posture should be considered.

Occupant ejections are among the most complex issues to resolve in kinematic cases.  In an ejection case it is vital to determine the avenue of ejection from the vehicle and where along the crash path the ejection occurred.

Another specialized category of kinematics is that of low speed impact analysis.  Even at relatively low speeds, occupants can be injured.  The correct protocol and calculations are necessary to determine the likelihood and mechanism of injury in a low speed impact.

Our staff has a wide variety of training and experience in the specific investigative protocol for these types of cases.  Modern air bag control sensor systems often include information regarding the delta v experienced during specific portions of the crash phase.  Our staff is extremely well qualified to analyze this important information and then apply it to the totality of evidence.