Biomechanical Analysis of Sideswipe Collisions

Course Description:

Sideswipe collisions between heavy trucks and passenger vehicles are common on U.S. roadways. These events occur across a wide range of speeds and can produce substantial and visually dramatic vehicle damage. However, the degree of exterior vehicle damage is often disproportionate to the loading experienced by the occupants, creating challenges when defending injury claims.

This course will walk participants through a biomechanical framework for analyzing sideswipe collisions. Attendees will learn how a biomechanical engineer assesses vehicle dynamics, contact mechanics, and occupant motion to quantify the forces and accelerations actually imparted to the human body. These biomechanical findings will then be placed in the broader context of established injury mechanisms and comparisons to activities of daily living to assess injury causation.

Special emphasis will be placed on the role of a biomechanical engineer, admissibility of biomechanical testimony, injury mechanisms for commonly claimed injuries, and the use of simulation and visualization tools to create powerful demonstratives for trial.

Presenter: Paul Snyder, MS, PE of Explico

Mr. Paul Snyder’s major area of practice involves the scientific investigation of accidents resulting in traumatic injury. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Snyder is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan State University focusing on the initiation and propagation of skull fractures from blunt trauma. His current doctoral research is on the relative contribution of intrinsic skull properties (thickness distribution, density distribution, etc.) versus extrinsic impact properties (implement shape, energy, etc.) that dictate resulting fracture pattern, and how finite element analysis of subject specific skull models might elucidate these relative contributions for better forensic evaluation of skull trauma. These published scientific findings have been presented at biomedical conferences.