Webinar Sponsored by:

Free for ADLA Members

11:30 am – 12:30 pm Central Time

Many modern vehicles have advanced restraint systems and high crashworthiness ratings, yet serious injuries still occur in crashes involving these vehicles. Can the role of occupant protection systems in preventing or contributing to injury be evaluated? Can questions regarding biomechanical mechanisms and potential mitigation of injuries be answered to a reasonable degree of certainty?

Presenters:  Amy Courtney, Ph.D., CAISS and Ian Campbell, Ph.D., P.E.

Key Takeaways:

·       Real-world crash data shows that advanced restraint systems and more stringent crashworthiness requirements have generally reduced the rate of severe injury in motor vehicle collisions
o   Crash and occupant factors may still involve risk of serious injuries
o   Biomechanical mechanisms of injuries can be identified and explained in the context of crash, vehicle, and/or occupant characteristics
o   Claims that specific injuries could have been prevented or mitigated can be evaluated
·       Lessons learned in the automotive product liability space can often be leveraged when analyzing motor vehicle collisions for personal injury cases
o   Utilize advanced crash sensing and restraint deployment data
o   Relate crash or sled test data, generally and/or specific to the involved vehicle, to injury risk and mitigation
·       Examples and New Data
o   Conditions associated with head and facial injury with frontal airbag deployment
o   When a moderate frontal collision may result in injury
o   When thoracic or abdominal injury may occur despite seat belt restraint
o   How an occupant may sustain serious to fatal injury in a rear impact collision