Your expert should read the books in the following list

Experts have got to know the process they take part in – that’s a given. They’ve got to be on their toes when investigating and reporting to the dispute resolution process on the cause of personal injury and failure in the built environment.

In this regard, I thought to provide the following list of books, legal papers and postings while blogging on animation. Animation is a useful technique in forensic work but one that is difficult to understand and explain. It’s also susceptible to misuse, both accidentally and deliberately. (see Appendix) There’s other difficult areas of forensic work besides animation. Good literature helps with these difficulties.

The list is not exhaustive but a good start. I will add to it over time.

I can’t say enough about the SEAK, Inc. books on writing reports and avoiding mistakes. Also, anything by Ruth M. Corbin is good – she writes well for readership at the interface between law and other fields; nice to see in a lawyer. The item on demonstrative evidence by Troy Lehmon is very good. It was recommended by an expert in traffic accident animation.

Recommended Reading for Experts

  1. Mangraviti, Jr., James J., Babitsky, Steven and Donovan, Nadine Nasser, How to Write An Expert Witness Report, 2014 2nd ed., SEAK, Inc., Falmouth, MA A 560 page, 8.5″ x 11″ massive tomb that should be on every person’s shelf who might be called as an expert. The book is based on what the authors have learned reviewing cases and training thousands of experts over more than 30 years. I’ve taken two of their courses and they’re good.
  2. Babitsky, Steven, Mangraviti, Jr., James J., The Biggest Mistakes Expert Witnesses Make and How to Avoid Them, 2008 SEAK, Inc., Falmouth, MA There are a lot of mistakes! Get the book and count them. This one should also be on every one’s shelf.
  3. Stockwood Q.C., Civil Litigation, A Practical Handbook, 5th ed., 2004 Thomson Carswell Toronto I found this an excellent text on the civil litigation process – a must-read for all experts. Note that it went to a 5th edition before the chap died prematurely in his 50s.
  4. Corbin, Ruth M., Chair, Corbin Partners Inc. and Adjunct Professor, Osgoode Hall School, Toronto, Breaking the Expert Evidence Logjam: Experts Weigh In, presented at Expert Witness Forum East, Toronto, February, 2018 (Google it) An excellent read!
  5. How experts are helping break the expert evidence logjam. Posted April 30, 2018
  6. Capurso (1998), Timonthy J., How Judges Judge: Theories on Judicial Decision Making, University of Baltimore Law Forum Vol. 29: No. 1, Article 2 Some ways are not impressive.
  7. Lehmon, Troy, Demonstrative Evidence, March 25, 2013, Oatley Vigmond, Personal Injury Law Firm, Ontario This paper is very informative, a good read for experts. thttps://oatleyvigmond.com/demonstrative-evidence/
  8. Experts: The only objective party in the judicial process. Posted April 21, 2020

Appendix

  1. Animation in Forensic Work: Use and Misuse. Posted January 12, 2022
  2. Telling it like it is, in forensic expert report writing. Posted January 27, 2022
  3. What did we get from a good talk on animation in forensic work? Posted February 27, 2022

(Posted by Eric E. Jorden, M.Sc., P.Eng. Consulting Professional Engineer, Forensic Engineer, Geotechnology Ltd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, March 31, 2022. ejorden@eastlink.ca)   

Experts must keep animation simple when reporting to clients, but what does ‘simple’ look like?

Keeping “Animation” simple was one good idea that I got from the Zoom meeting six of us had on animation in forensic work.

Animation is a procedure that brings to life the scene – in model form – of a failure in the built environment or an accident on a highway. It relies on the same basic principles and methods that produce the funny cartoons in TV ads. (Refs 1, 2 and 3)

However, there is a risk of mistaken or deliberate misuse of animation in an expert’s work. The risk was thought to be small, but you should read the animation software sellers’s promise of “building a solid case” to know it’s there. The promise will appeal to some.

Keeping it simple reduces the risk of mistakes or mischief. If the animation is submitted as evidence, it also helps parties to the judicial and dispute resolution processes better understand what happened to cause the failure or accident.

Simple is less entertaining and fun to watch but more focused on cause. Mistakes and mischief are also more likely to be found out.

I thought it would help if you saw some simple animations to learn what to look for in your expert’s report. The following were suggested by my colleagues (see Appendix) as examples of the simple and the complicated, the good and the bad. I highlighted in red what I thought were simple animations:

(Gremlin alert!! I’m sorry, a gremlin got in the works. You must copy the links for #1 to #15 below longhand then type in Google to see the animation. I tried to fix the problem but got nowhere. The links highlighted in red are worth the longhand effort. The links for #1 to #9, way below, work okay; just click on them and away you go)

  1. Favorite Accident Reconstructions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJHZ5QcDe1o
  2. Pedestrian Night Accident Animation and Laser Scan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPluPmAabjE
  3. 3D Laser Scan Crash Visualization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM5ncfXkFsM
  4. PC-Crash 12.1 available – VR video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNJyWOHPOxU&list=PLeVcNHSgLdvnmL-DciU1hopWUO6iQlFCp&index=13
  5. PC-Crash 12.1 – 360 VR driver’s perspective video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH-QkvDMio0&list=PLeVcNHSgLdvnmL-DciU1hopWUO6iQlFCp&index=12
  6. LiDAR vs Photogrammetry Data Outputs for slope stabilisation works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLNB2NG4Gzk
  7. Photogrammetry vs RGB-Fused-LiDAR on a Phoenix System https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CyOX7IsQNM
  8. Truckee River Flume Photogrammetry vs Lidar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlxEcDFYIQ
  9. Drone LiDAR vs Photogrammetry | Epic Stadium 3D model https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RNiWTJw3KA
  10. Cool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnZ4I3FFnUI
  11. Princess Di https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86eJs-ULapw
  12. Crush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgOpSh8eTPw
  13. Day to night trucks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNsBYyUb8q0
  14. Jenner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9hA8D4k2_4
  15. Gyro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c1lF6uEmu
  1. Favorite Accident Reconstructions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJHZ5QcDe1o
  2. Pedestrian Night Accident Animation and Laser Scan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPluPmAabjE
  3. 3D Laser Scan Crash Visualization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM5ncfXkFsM
  4. PC-Crash 12.1 available – VR video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNJyWOHPOxU&list=PLeVcNHSgLdvnmL-DciU1hopWUO6iQlFCp&index=13
  5. PC-Crash 12.1 – 360 VR driver’s perspective video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH-QkvDMio0&list=PLeVcNHSgLdvnmL-DciU1hopWUO6iQlFCp&index=12
  6. LiDAR vs Photogrammetry Data Outputs for slope stabilisation works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLNB2NG4Gzk
  7. Photogrammetry vs RGB-Fused-LiDAR on a Phoenix System https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CyOX7IsQNM
  8. Truckee River Flume Photogrammetry vs Lidar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlxEcDFYIQ
  9. Drone LiDAR vs Photogrammetry | Epic Stadium 3D model https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RNiWTJw3KA

References

  1. Animation in Forensic Work: Use and Misuse. Posted January 12, 2022
  2. Telling it like it is, in forensic expert report writing. Posted January 27, 2022
  3. What did we get from a good talk on animation in forensic work? Posted February 27, 2022

Appendix

The animation links were suggested by Adam Cybanski, Gyro Flight & Safety Analysis, Inc, Kemptville, Ontario, Stuart Smith, C. R. Tyner and Associates, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and Ken Zwicker, Atlantic Crash, Pentz, Nova Scotia. These chaps specialize in traffic accident reconstruction and related fields. They serve as experts when called on.

(Posted by Eric E. Jorden, M.Sc., P.Eng. Consulting Professional Engineer, Forensic Engineer, Geotechnology Ltd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, March 11, 2022. ejorden@eastlink.ca)