Technical Illustrations

Over 14 years in Demonstrative Evidence honed my instincts for knowing how to make highly technical information understandable to a lay audience. Working with experts, I had the opportunity to do everything from on-site investigations to finished courtroom graphics, timelines and animations.

For this backhoe accident case involving a tip-over and subsequent injury to the operator, the crucial piece of evidence to demonstrate was the center of gravity.

The backhoe was modeled in AutoCad, then rendered and animated in 3D Studio.

In the case of the Oakland Hills Fire, we visited the site of the Parkwoods Apartments while the buildings' remains were still smoking, where we shot photos and video and otherwise recorded the scene.

Because of the loss of life and the huge property damage, this case involved multiple, overlapping lawsuits. Our mission was determined to be to re-create the four square miles that was the outer extent of the fire and to focus on the immediate area of what was believed to be the fire's origin.

We purchased 3D topographic models of the four square miles and with the aid of aerial photographs, were able to place many of the roads and buildings.

We acquired television footage of the fire and were able to synchronize times with the aid of fire and police audio. Under the direction of fire experts, we created precision 3D physical models, 3D CAD models, timelines and courtboards. We then rendered and animated the CAD models to show wind vectors and fire spread throughout the large area and the Parkwoods Apartments over a period of three days. This one project involved a team of fire and materials experts and demonstrative evidence specialists for a period of over fifteen months.

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