A Perfect ‘Witness’

A Perfect ‘Witness’

Technology Associates efforts cited in daily New York Post newspaper
(Ikimulisa Livingston, May 1, 2006).

Forensic animation results in summary judgment on behalf of plaintiff

A teenage girl was run over by a city bus, but no witnesses came forward and, as a result, the bus company was reluctant to compensate her for her serious injuries. Technology Associates was hired to reconstruct the accident and prepare a computer animation. After interviewing the injured girl, visiting the site and inspecting the bus, we created an animation based on a computer simulation of the bus motion. The realistic video showed how the accident occurred when the bus made a sharp right turn into the victim, who was walking across the street and had the right of way. While the bus driver claimed to have never seen the girl, our animation showed that there were at least three opportunities for him to have seen the girl and that he should have avoided this accident had he been reasonably attentive. Thus, although there was no human witness, the video was so effective that after seeing it, the civil court judge made a directed verdict finding the driver negligent. After hearing this ruling, the defendant agreed to a $2.7 million settlement.