FORENSICS & FORENSIC DOCUMENTATION

Forensic documentation gives you powerful tools for understanding accidents.


Why would you need forensic documentation? Because accidents happen. When they do, investigations usually follow. Especially in cases of structural collapse, industrial accidents, and incidents that involve personal injury or death, forensic documentation can become vital.

3D reality capture laser scanning is an effective tool to accurately document accident scenes. The point clouds generated can be used by engineers as they work to determine the cause of an accident. 3D renderings of accident scenes have also become powerful tools in litigation.

Forensics Client Snapshot

Client: Dustin Forensics, LLC

Project: Create 3D visualization of automobile-bicycle collision scene.

Problem: The incident involved a young woman who was hit by a car while riding her bike. Police concluded the cyclist had strayed into the intersection where she was hit by the automobile. The accident victim’s attorneys thought otherwise and hired PrecisionPoint and Dustin Forensics to assist in preparing for the trial.

Solution: PrecisionPoint is typically brought in when forensic documentation is needed by defense lawyers. However, for this case, we were hired by the plaintiffs. Our job was to scan the scene and the accident, long after the incident occurred.

3D Reality Capture Forensic Documentation from PrecisionPointWhenever possible, PPI scans the exterior and interior of the actual crash vehicle. But in this case, it was no longer available. So we obtained a representative vehicle of the same make and model and took it to the crash scene. Using the official police report, we placed other evidence, including a child’s bicycle, at the scene. Next, our team scanned the intersection, approach lanes and surrounding area. After registering the 3D point cloud in FARO Scene, we generated a 2D road surface file in AutoCAD.

The digital datasets were delivered to Dustin Forensics, who used Autodesk® 3ds Max® to create a highly realistic animation of the crash scene for presentation to the jury at the trial. They were able to visually demonstrate that the driver had a clear line of sight of the accident victim for more than 100 yards leading up to the collision, and that she was not in the intersection when struck.

The immersive nature of the 3D environment created with the reality capture data was compelling and convinced the jury to rule in the young woman’s favor.

Learn More About PrecisionPoint's Reality Capture Solutions