July 2008
MEA research into the effect of rotated head postures on the strain in the facet capsule ligament during whiplash is published in Spine. This research was done in collaboration with Dr. Beth Winkelstein from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Barry Myers from Duke University and Drs. Susumu Ejima and Koshiri Ono from the Japanese Automobile Research Institute.
MEA is sponsoring a hole at the CICMA Golf Tournament at Northview Golf Course in Surrey, BC on July 24, 2008. Come by and test your swing speed.
June 2008
Brad Heinrichs, Elizabeth Hassan, James Bowler, Jean-Francois Goulet, Mathieu King and Andrea Ho braved the rain for 3 days to complete the British Columbia Safety Council's Motorcycle Skills Course. This course consisted of control techniques, defensive riding tactics and emergency response techniques including braking and swerving. Lynne Allin with MEA's Vancouver office, assisted with the course. Lynne is a motorcycle riding instructor and course supervisor.
Kurt Ising teaches the Human Factors & Traffic Safety course to the
RCMP Level III Collision Analysts at RCMP Pacific Region
Training Center, Chilliwack, BC.
MEA research on the role that deep neck muscles may play in whiplash injury is published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. This research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Jean-Sebastien Blouin, Dr. Mark Carpenter and Dr. Tim Inglis at the University of British Columbia.
May 2008
MEA Forensic sponsors the student awards for Best Podium Presentations at the 4th Annual Northwest Biomechanics Symposium held at Boise State University in Idaho.
April 2008
A review of MEA research into the potential role of startle responses in whiplash injury is published in Exercise and Sport Science Reviews. This research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Jean-Sebastien Blouin and Dr. Tim Inglis at the University of British Columbia.
Gunter Siegmund,
Craig Wilkinson, Jean-Francois
Goulet, Mathieu King,
Elizabeth Hassan and Ryan Fix
attend SAE 2008
World Congress in Detroit, MI.
Craig
Wilkinson was a guest
lecturer at the
Toronto Police Service Level 1 Accident Reconstruction
course on April 22, 2008. The purpose of the talk was to
provide new police reconstructionists some perspective on
how engineers approach accident reconstruction and
demonstrate advanced techniques such as accident
simulation software.
Dennis
Chimich presented a
training on Injury Biomechanics at the
Canadian Defence Lawyers, Boot Camp II on April 17,
2008 in Vancouver. This program was the sequel to CDL's
2007 Boot Camp: Basic Training for New Defence Lawyers,
approximately 80 lawyers from the greater Vancouver area
attended the session.
March 2008
MEA Forensic was a
proud sponsor of the 2nd Annual PI Charity Law Challenge
on March 27, 2008. The event raised over $18 thousand for
the Canadian Spinal Research Organization. Please see the
attached link for photos of the event.
MEA Toronto celebrates
their first anniversary and keeps growing...Ismail
El Maach, MASc, PEng, joins MEA as a Senior
Biomechanical Engineer with the Injury Group
3/19 - Craig
Wilkinson will lead the seminar "Forensic
Engineering in Practice" at the Insurance Institute of
Ontario. This seminar qualifies for RIBO credits.
3/26 - Craig
Wilkinson will present "From Black Boxes to
Broken Bones" at the Canadian Defense Lawyers' Boot Camp.
The Boot Camp is for law clerks and will be held at the
Ontario Bar Association. MEA is a proud sponsor and will
be exhibiting at the event.
February 2008
Andrea M.
Ho, Project Engineer joins
the Transportation Group in the BC Office.
Charles
Gang, PE joins MEA
California as construction defect expert. Chuck brings
thirty years of extensive civil/structural design
engineering, construction defect, and architectural
expertise to MEA.
January 2008
Gunter
Siegmund, John Gardiner and
Check Kam attend the World Congress on
Neck Pain in Los Angeles, CA.
John Brault
elected Vice-Chairman of the ASTM International F-13
Committee – Pedestrian/Walkway Safety and Footwear.
1/18 - MEA sponsors The
Advocates’ Society,
Tricks
of the Trade Conference at The Carlu, Toronto. MEA
exhibits at the conference, and Craig Wilkinson
participates as an expert witness in the mock trial.
1/30 - Gunter
Siegmund presents a two-hour Injury Biomechanics
seminar at The OIAA 2008 Professional Development and
Claims Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
MEA is exhibiting at Booth #1107.
November 2007
11/8 - Mark
Bailey and Elvis Cepus teach Forensic Engineering
in Practice at the Insurance Institute of BC. The 3 hour
course focuses on assisting insurance professionals to
understand material and mechanical failure, product
litigation, fire, personal injury, human factors & vehicle
collision losses through engineering and science
11/9 - John
Brault and Check Kam perform research at the USC
Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory to
investigate and compare the performance of 11 different
tribometers on a suite of walkway materials. The results
will be used to assist the ASTM F13 committee in drafting
a standard to validate tribometers (instruments that
measure coefficient of friction for walkway safety).
Time Magazine article
entitled "Head
Games" (November 29, 2007) references research
recently published by MEA Forensic and Washington State
University on the difference between head and neck
geometry and strength of size-matched females and males.
October 2007
10/29-31 - MEA Injury
Biomechanics Group attends the 51st Stapp Car Crash
Conference in San Diego.
David King
and Ryan Fix participate at the
California Association of Accident Reconstructionists,
CA2RS Conference 2007. David King presents Night Time
Visibility and Understanding Low Speed Impact Collisions
seminars. Ryan Fix presents “How to assess high speed
offset collisions using NHTSA data.”
September 2007
Kurt Ising
teaches the Human Factors & Traffic Safety course to the
RCMP Level III Collision Analysts at RCMP Pacific Region
Training Center, Chilliwack, BC.
David King
's article “Hanging
by a tread: The role of tires in accident reconstruction”
is published in the Advocate, The Journal of Consumer
Attorneys Associations for Southern California.
John
Brault and David King
participate at The Consumer Attorneys
Association of Los Angeles Annual Convention in Las
Vegas. John Brault testifies in the Mock Trial as
the plaintiff’s expert in a premises liability case.
David King co-presents Accident Reconstruction
Experts: When Are They Needed and How to Use Them
Effectively.
MEA is a proud
sponsor of these upcoming industry events:
MEA Toronto: 9/6 -
TIWA Annual Golf Tournament, MEA is the golf foursome
photographer - we look forward to meeting you.
August 2007
August 3, 2007 -
MEA CELEBRATES 25 YEARS!
MEA research into the differences between female and male necks is published in the Journal of Biomechanics. This research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Anita Vasavada at Washington State University.
Alyssa
DeMarco, Craig Wilkinson and Gunter Siegmund
publish "The
Right Helmet Helps" in CI, Canada's Insurance Business
Magazine.
MEA just keeps growing...
Norman Jang joins MEA as
Controller.
MEA
is a proud sponsor of these upcoming industry events:
MEA Toronto: MEA is
the golf foursome photographer for several industry events:
8/10 - OIAA Hamilton
Chapter Golf Tournament
8/22 - Huntington Benefit Golf Tournament
8/29 - Sean Corner Golf Tournament
8/20 - MEA California
sponsors the First Annual American Board of Trial
Advocates Golf Classic at the Marbella Country Club & Golf
Course, San Juan Capistrano
July 2007
7/12 -
MEA Toronto participates as the Official Photo Sponsor at
the Hamilton District Insurance Association Golf
Tournament.
7/26 - MEA Vancouver is a
hole sponsor at the CICMA Golf Tournament, stop by and say
hello.
June 2007
Duane
MacInnis and Craig Wilkinson
publish "Motorcycle
Accident Reconstruction: For the Times, They Are A-Changin'"
in WP Without Prejudice, The Official Journal of the
Ontario Insurance Adjustors Association.
Craig
Wilkinson publishes "Event
Data Recorders in Cars - Are You Sitting on Important
Evidence?" in The Litigator, The Journal of the Ontario
Trial Lawyers Association.
June 26 - stop by and
visit our Vancouver Products, Property & Premises team at
the Family Insurance 3rd Annual Charity Fundraiser
Golf Tournament & Silent Auction at the Northview
Golf Course, Surrey, BC.
We're Growing Again!
Check Kam joins the Injury Group in our
Lake Forest office. Check recently received his Masters of
Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Virginia.
MEA Forensic Toronto
participates as sponsors at the OIAA Annual Open
Golf Tournament (June 8th) and the CICMA
Annual Open Golf Tournament (June 13th).
May 2007
Steve
Yamashita attends Basic
Fire Investigation training at the 2007
International Association of Arson Investigators/
Northwest Fire Investigators Association Joint Fire
Investigation Conference. The IAAI/NFIA coarse
certification adds great value to Steve's industry
experience in conducting failure analysis and fire
investigation.
MEA Forensic sponsors the
Best Podium Presentation and Best Poster Presentation
Awards at the
3rd
Annual Northwest Biomechanics Symposium held at the
University of Oregon in Eugene, OR.
April 2007
Kurt Ising
presents "Digital camera calibration for luminance
estimation in nighttime visibility studies" at SAE
in Detroit.
MEA research into neck
muscle strain during whiplash exposures published in
Spine. This research was conducted in
collaboration with Dr. Anita Vasavada at Washington State
University.
MEA Forensic continues to
provide our clients answers and the latest technology in
Forensic Engineering. We have expanded our
laboratory and now offer
FTIR(Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer)
capabilities. MEA is one of the few forensic
engineering firms to have our own FTIR to identify unknown
substances in a wide spectrum of cases and practice areas.
Dale Goudie
PEng returns to MEA after
several years working on low emissions heavy-truck
engines. Dale led MEA's skid research in the late 90's
and we are excited to have him back. Dale will specialize
in the investigation of heavy-truck accidents.
March 2007
MEA is pleased to
announce the addition Steven Yamashita, BS
as a Product Engineer. Steve leads the technical
investigation and failure analysis of product defects,
system malfunctions, accidents and fires.
MEA research on the use
of tribometers for evaluating slipperiness published in
the
Journal of Forensic Science. This research project
done in collaboration with the USC Musculoskeletal
Biomechanics Research Laboratory and J2 Engineering.
Dave King,
featured on
Discovery Channel's Survive This Series!, examining
the evidence from a semi truck vs. train collision at a
railroad crossing in Oxnard, California. Mr. King then
explains how the structure of the trailer and the
massiveness and the speed of the train combined to allowed
the female driver to emerge from her cab unharmed.
John Brault, featured on
Discovery Channel's Survive This Series!, analyzing
the incident during the World Extreme Skiing Championships
in Valdez, Alaska, where competitor Garret Bartelt
stumbles and falls for 37 seconds down a terrifying chute
studded with cliffs and rocks. Mr. Brault examines the
amazing feat of Garret's survival and explains how he beat
the odds.
February 2007
MEA Is
Growing Again! Proudly in
our 25th year, MEA Forensic is pleased to announce the
opening of our newest office. With offices in Vancouver,
Los Angeles and now the Greater Toronto area, we are able
to offer comprehensive opinions, accident investigation,
analysis, reconstruction and testifying services
nationwide.
Duane MacInnis, Director,
Craig Wilkinson, Senior Engineer, Shannon Payne, Marketing
and Client Relations and La Firn Brazel, Project
Coordinator will be serving our Toronto clients. Give them
a call to discuss how MEA can handle the most complex
technical cases from start to finish.
Mathieu
King, joins the
Transportation Group in the MEA Toronto office.
Alan Black,
MS joins the Lake Forest,
CA as a Safety Engineer.
MEA research on the
response of superficial and deep neck muscles to various
tasks—including whiplash—is published in the
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.
January 2007
MEA was featured in the
January 2007 Issue of the National Post, Financial Post
Business section with the article entitled, A Crash Course
In Forensics written by award-winning magazine journalist
and sports columnist
Kerry Banks.
Kristina
Basto, joins MEA as
Marketing & Client Relations Specialist in the Vancouver
office.
Shannon
Payne, joins MEA as
Marketing & Client Relations Specialist in the Toronto
office.
La Firn
Brazel, joins MEA as a
Project Coordinator in the Toronto office.
December 2006
MEA research into the
interaction of whiplash and startle responses published in
the
Journal of Applied Physiology.
John
Brault's article "Why
is ice slippery? And other research findings relevant to
premises liability cases" was published in the Academy
of Trial Lawyers Journal, October 2006 Article, this
article was previously published in The Advocate, June
2006.
John Brault
and Dave King
presented to ICRMA, the
Independent Cities Risk
Management Association monthly
ICRMA
University Workshop on Roadway, Lighting and Traffic
Signals Liabilities Mitigation.
MEA research on the
potential interaction of whiplash and startle is published
in the
Journal of Applied Physiology.
November 2006
Gunter
Siegmund, John Gardiner and
Alyssa DeMarco attended the
50th Stapp Car Crash Conference in Dearborn, MI.
Alyssa
DeMarco presented
“Motorcycle Helmet Impact Response: Comparison of Helmet
Type and Impact Severity” at the 34th International
Workshop on Human Subjects for Biomechanical Research in
Gunter
Siegmund presented
“Cervical Multifidus Muscle Activity during Whiplash and
Startle Responses” at the 34th International Workshop on
Human Subjects for Biomechanical Research in Dearborn, MI.
Julie
O'Brien inducted into
Irvine Spectrum
Rotary Club as a District 5320 Rotarian.
October 2006
Mark Bailey
presents research entitled “Failure analysis of PVC pipe
joint separations” at the Materials Science & Technology
Conference in Cincinnati, OH.
Mark Bailey
is designated a CFEI (Certified Fire and Explosion
Investigator) having met the qualification and examination
requirements of the
National Fire Protection Association.
Kurt Ising
completes ED 100, a 3-day
lighting fundamentals course taught by the
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.
Gunter
Siegmund's research on
startle and whiplash is profiled in
The Vancouver Sun, The Province, CTV and CBC.
Bill Cliff
leads two-day PC-Crash Introductory training as well as
two-day Advanced PC-Crash training in Vancouver, BC.
September 2006
Jonathan
Lawrence joins CBC's
On the Coast broadcast for a discussion of forensics
in the Lower Mainland.
Kurt Ising
and Jonathan Lawrence teach sections of
the RCMP Level 3 Accident Investigation course held in
Chilliwack, BC.
The
New Scientist, a popular weekly science and technology
magazine, features Gunter Siegmund’s
research into
startle and whiplash responses in their September 2,
2006 issue.
Elvis Cepuš
publishes "Electron
Microscopy: What is it, What it can do, and Why is it
Useful in Claims Investigations" in the Summer edition
of Adjuster's Quarterly.
John Brault
presented "Using Biomechanical Experts" at the
24th
Annual Consumer Attorney's Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)
Convention while John Gardiner
participated as a Biomechanical Expert in the CAALA Mock
Trial in Las Vegas NV.
John Brault
presents "Don't Let Key
Evidence Slip Through the Cracks" at the
19th Annual Association of Southern California Defense
Counsel (ASCDC) Santa Barbara seminar on September
30th.
August 2006
John Brault
publishes "Why
is ice slippery? And other research findings relevant to
premises liability cases" in the June issue of The
Advocate.
David King
and Jonathan Lawrence publish "Capturing
the Big Bang: Event Data Recorders in Cars" in the
American Bar Association's Spring edition of Tort Source.
Gunter
Siegmund presents research
entitled “Superficial and deep neck muscle activity during
isometric, voluntary and reflex contractions” at the
2006
World Congress on Biomechanics in Munich, Germany.
Andrea
McCandless, BA joins the LA
office as a project coordinator and Isabel
Vititpong, BSc joins MEA as a project coordinator
in the BC office.
July 2006
Tammy
Meyer, BSc joins the LA
office as a project coordinator.
Jonathan
Lawrence, Craig Wilkinson
and Alyssa De Marco provide a
presentation on Crash Data Recorders as well as
Biomechanics to ICBC North Richmond.
Alyssa
DeMarco presents "Brain
Injuries and Airbags: The Effect of a Seatbelt" at the
ASME
2006 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Amelia Island
FL.
Ryan Fix, BSME
and Matt Petros, BSME join the
Transportation Group in the MEA LA office |
