Biomechanical Engineering Experts have been around in the US for a number of years but here in the UK they are relatively new. Below is a brief description of what a Biomechanical Engineer does and how they may be able to assist in your case.
Firstly and most importantly, the role of a biomechanical engineer should not’t be confused with that of a medical Consultant or Doctor.
Biomechanics is a widely recognised area of scientific study and professional practice that applies physics and engineering principles to human anatomy and physiology, in order to perform a failure analysis.
That means starting from the outcome of an adverse event and working backwards to determine how the forces and accelerations generated during that event were applied to the human body, and whether those forces were in the appropriate direction and with sufficient magnitude to produce a specific injury (or set of injuries).
A Biomechanical Engineer will review the primary medical records as a starting point for their failure analysis, and perform severity analyses specific to the incident/collision in question. They regularly consult and collaborate with other professionals involved in a case.
In contrast, medical doctors apply problem solving skills to the art of identifying and treating disease. They are not necessarily trained in human kinematics or the response of tissues to loading. A treating doctor/consultant effectively expresses a medical opinion in the form of a physiological diagnosis, which then leads them toward a specific treatment plan.
Essentially, a medical diagnosis answers the question: What injury produced the observed symptoms? A biomechanical opinion answers the question: How did the observed injury occur given the specific circumstances of the adverse event in question?
In many circumstances, a biomechanical engineer, rather than a medical practitioner, is better equipped on the basis of education, training, and experience to integrate multi-disciplinary information, and to address issues of injury causation for the Court.
Please contact Annica Goras on 01285 864650 or email her by clicking the link here.