Injury Biomechanics: How People Get Hurt

This course, “Injury Biomechanics: How People Get Hurt,” is designed to enhance an adjuster’s knowledge and understanding of the mechanical properties of different types of tissues, major joints, and other parts of body commonly involved in bodily injury claims to help evaluate the consistency between accident scenarios and the injuries claimed. The module is presented by Dr. Richard Baratta, Ph.D., P.E., ACTAR, Senior Vice President and Consultant at Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc., a worldwide forensic engineering and consulting firm.

This course begins by defining what biomechanical engineering is and what biomechanics means in relation to bodily injury claim analyses. The presenter then discusses the mechanical properties of the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The presenter also demonstrates how those different types of tissues can be injured in common accident scenarios, such as slip and falls and vehicular accidents. In the next four sections, the presenter provides a broad overview of the major joints, spine, pelvis, brain, and TMJ syndrome in the context of accidental injuries. During these discussions, the presenter highlights how the mechanics of an accident can influence the type of injury a person has. Lastly, the presenter discusses the methodologies used by biomechanists to assist adjusters with their claims analyses and examines several real-life injury claim scenarios to illustrate how these analyses work.

After completing the course, the viewer should be able to…

explain what biomechanics is and how biomechanists can assist adjusters with their bodily injury claim analyses; characterize the mechanical properties of bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons; describe how different tissues can be injured or fail in some of the most common accident scenarios; list the major joints in the human body and some typical injuries to those joints in accident scenarios; name the segments of the spine and the major parts of the spinal column; recall some of the common problems with intervertebral discs and what mechanisms can cause those problems in an accident scenario; specify commonplace spinal fractures; describe the basic anatomy of the pelvis and the external skull and how they can be fractured; differentiate between common brain injuries; explain what the TMJ is and the mechanisms required to cause TMJ syndrome in a single isolated event; and, identify the mechanisms that may cause injuries to major organs in the abdominal and thoracic areas.

The course is designed for insurance professionals working in the area of liability insurance adjustment.