By asking these types of questions, you can help the jury understand the defense biomechanical witness’s comparison is misleading and the car accident in your client’s case was more severe than the defense biomechanical is trying to make it seem. Note, Probst often discusses average acceleration of the vehicle instead of peak acceleration. In most motor vehicle collisions, the average acceleration is about half of the peak acceleration. Again, this is an easy way a defense biomechanical witness can try to make the collision sound less severe and present a lower number. Cross-Examining on Application and Magnitude of Force Defense biomechanical witnesses often try to minimize the severity of an injury by arguing the forces involved were relatively small. For example, they might point out the occupant of a motor vehicle that was struck in a collision was subjected to only 5g of force. This is often less force than someone would experience while running or doing everyday activities. However, it is important to understand the magnitude of force is not the only factor determining the severity of an injury. How the force is applied to the body turns out to be a more important factor. You might use the following examples to help illustrate this point: If you stand on your desk and jump off onto your feet, you are likely to be unharmed. This is because the force of the impact is spread out over your entire body and your feet, ankles, knees, hips, etc., have all evolved to be able to take forces applied in this manner. On the other hand, if you are suspended horizontally at desk height and dropped onto your back, you are likely to sustain a serious injury. Our bodies are not really adapted to handle forces applied in this manner. The magnitude of the force is the same, the application is very different. If you hit a wall with your fist, the force of the impact will be concentrated on a small area of your hand. This can cause serious injury, such as a broken bone or a dislocated knuckle. However, if you hit the wall with your palm, the force of the impact will be spread out over a larger area. This is less likely to cause serious injury. If you drop a vase onto a hard floor from a high height, it is likely to shatter. This is because the force of the impact will be concentrated on a small area of the vase. However, if you drop the vase onto a soft surface, such as a carpet, it is less likely to break. This is because the force of the impact will be spread out over a larger area. Also, the duration of the impact is much shorter on a hard surface and the impact takes longer on carpet, so the forces are spread out over more time, and the peak acceleration is less on carpet. Compare dropping a person from 1 foot high two different ways: head first vs. feet first. The injury potential is very different even though the force is the same. In each of these examples, the force involved is the same. However, the way the force is applied is different. This can have a significant impact on the severity of the injury. See Biomechanical Witnessess p. 40 39 Trial Lawyer | Winter 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=