Biomechanical analysis contributes to more informed decisions

Toronto: April 30, 2014:  With biomechanical analysis the legal and insurance industries in Canada have an additional tool to more accurately assess the cause and extent of injuries.

Dr Sam Howarth, a biomechanical expert with Rochon Engineering, explained the use of biomechanical techniques and analysis to lawyers at a symposium organized by Multi Disciplinary Assessment Centre (MDAC) recently in Toronto.

“Biomechanics bridges the space between medical analysis and diagnosis and engineering accident reconstruction,” said Howarth. “It is a useful tool to examine whether injuries are congruent with the events and severity of an incident. We do a full review of all the documentation, the accident reports and witness statements, the scientific literature and other related information and then determine the threshold of force and typical body movements in such an accident.”

“For instance, in the case of a claimant who tripped and fell on stairs, we were able to determine that the most typical fall would be forwards, not backwards, as he claimed. His injuries were more consistent with a fall from a height (the type of injuries that might be suffered by a parachutist) than a trip on stairs. This analysis enabled the case to be settled out of court,” said Dr Howarth.

 

About Dr. Sam Howarth: 

Dr. Howarth received his Masters in 2006 and Doctorate in 2011 from the University of Waterloo in biomechanics. Dr. Howarth has conducted biomechanical research on human movement, injury thresholds, and computational modeling for more than 10 years, and has published his findings in 30 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. He has also presented findings from his research at provincial, national, and international scientific conferences. Dr. Howarth was an invited speaker at the World Congress of Biomechanics held in Singapore of 2010, the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, and the Andrews-Paulos Research and Education Institute. In addition, Dr. Howarth has served as a scientific reviewer for the biennial Canadian Society for Biomechanics Conference (2004), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grants Program (2012, 2013), and has reviewed scientific manuscripts for the journals Applied Ergonomics, Clinical Biomechanics, Journal of Biomechanics, European Spine Journal, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, and Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology.    

 

About MDAC:

For more than two decades the Multi Disciplinary Assessment Centre (MDAC) team have performed thousands of individual and multi-disciplinary Medico-Legal Assessments, using the complex procedures involved in assessing physical and psychological disability. MDAC has formalized its quality management system, and is ISO registered.  MDAC uses health care professionals who are experienced and knowledgeable regarding Expert Witness Rule 53, current regulations and case law that affect the delivery of services. MDAC only utilizes the highest quality professionals including Certified Life Care Planners and Certified Vocational Evaluators. MDAC is part of Granite Health Solutions.

For more information:

• Peta Lomberg
• 416 778 9911
• peta@lombergnetwork.com

 

http://www.mdacentre.com