Case Examples

Motor vehicle accidents – high speed

Personal Injury

A man was being transported to jail for driving while intoxicated. He was sitting in the right rear seat of a Police Car behind a protective screen. He was handcuffed with his hands behind his back and was said to have been restrained with a 3-point harness. The right front corner of the police car impacted a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck. The Event Recorder data indicated that a delta v of 26.7 miles per hour occurred during impact. The man suffered a right frontal skull fracture and intercerebral subarachnoid bleed.

Could the injuries have occurred if the man was restrained with a 3-point harness?
What part of the vehicle interior did his head impact to produce the fracture?
What was the minimum distance of travel, from the man's head to the interior object his head contacted, that was required to produce force sufficient to cause the fracture?

Motor vehicle accidents – low velocity rear end impact

Personal Injury

An automobile was stopped at a stop sign when it was rear-ended by another automobile said to be traveling at a low speed. There was little damage to either vehicle. The man whose car was rear-ended claimed that as a result of the collision, he suffered a C4-C5 disc herniation that required fusion of the C4-C5 vertebrae. He had pre-existing cervical degenerative disease.

What were the impact speed and delta V?
Was the disc herniation the result of the collision?
What was the mechanism of injury?

Motor vehicle accidents

Product Liability

An automobile was traveling on a highway when the driver swerved to avoid a head-on collision with another automobile that was traveling toward him after trying to pass a truck. The driver of the automobile that swerved went into a ditch and was abruptly stopped upon striking an abutment. The driver was not wearing a seat belt and the driver's side airbag failed to deploy. He suffered a concussion as a result of his forehead head striking the top of the steering wheel. In addition, the driver suffered a burst fracture of his L4 vertebrae.

Had the driver been wearing his seat belt or had the air bag deployed, would he have suffered the L4 burst fracture?
What was the mechanism of injury?