Wooden Model used by Artists Demonstrates Victim's Arm Positions in Use of Deadly Force Case

Photos of the wooden model were used to demonstrate the positioning of the victim’s arms in response to police officers’ orders.

On October 23, 2018, Nick Peters, 24, was fatally shot by Snohomish County Sheriff Deputy Arthur Wallin, following a car chase that ended with him crashing into a tree. Peters was shot twice while still in his vehicle.

Wallin maintained that he had shot Peters for fear that his partner would be run over by Peters during an attempt to flee. He also said that he had an instinct that the victim was reaching for a weapon. Peters' family asserted instead that their son was attempting to respond to conflicting commands being shouted by the police. They filed suit against the County for misuse of deadly force by the Sheriff's deputy.

Hayes+Associates was retained by Jeffrey M. Campiche of the Seattle law firm Campiche Arnold (https://campichearnold.com/) to reconstruct the shooting and determine which of the two versions of the event was supported by the facts. Using a wooden artist's model and his background from teaching anatomy, H+A founder and president Wilson C. "Toby" Hayes, PhD used the entry and exit wounds and the internal injuries found at autopsy, to show the positioning of Mr. Peters' arms in relation to the officers weapon. The analysis showed unequivocally that Peters was attempting neither to retrieve a firearm, nor to drive the vehicle away.

In mediation, Dr. Hayes' photos and explanation of the posed wooden model were used to demonstrate Peter's arm positions in response to the officers' orders. Peters was, in fact, reaching with his left hand on the door handle to exit the vehicle, while simultaneously raising his right hand in surrender. When shot and killed, Peters was attempting to respond to two orders at once, as the police were shouting, "Get out of the car!" And "Raise your hands!"

The case settled for $1 million out of court, in favor of the Peters family.

Following an internal investigation, Wallin was fired from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Department. Some months later in early 2020, after the election of a new Sheriff, Wallin was reinstated.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

Buffalo Protester's Fall not a "Set Up," as suggested by the President

Screen grab of Mr. Gugino being pushed by Buffalo police; June 9th tweet in question

On June 9, the President tweeted  "...I watched, he fell harder than was pushed,” suggesting that an Buffalo NY protester’s backward fall  from a forceful push by a police officer was a “set up.”

In this case, the President was half right.  The fall was harder than the push. But not because it was a set up. It was not. Instead, the fall was a reflection of ingrained human reflexes and the fundamental laws of physics, neither of which can be controlled.

Last week, 75 year old Martin Gugino, was unexpectedly and forcefully pushed by a police officer, lost his balance and fell backwards, his head directly impacting the cement sidewalk. He immediately began to bleed from the ear, usually a sign of a serious, and often fatal, fracture at the base of the skull.  

Humans, from about the time we learn to walk,  invoke deep-seated, involuntary reflexes that are the body's attempt at protecting the head in a backward fall. We bend at the knees and waist to lower our center of gravity. We tip our head forward. We take backward steps trying to catch up with our tipping body.

And if these reflexes don't work? The laws of physics take over, and the head gains speed as it nears impact with the ground. The speed is not only gravity at work, but the consequence of the backward rotation caused by the initial push.

Mr. Gugino's fall was not a "set up." He fell because he was pushed violently enough to overcome his natural, protective reflexes. The rest was fundamental physics.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

Flying Pumpkin: H+A Finds Holiday Item Did Not Cause Injuries; Jury Returns a Defense Verdict

Reconstruction results show that toy pumpkin contact (if it happened) creates forces less than those of common daily activities.

On September 16, 2006, Jennifer Schwartz was shopping in the holiday aisle in a Florida Walmart, where two workers were stocking an endcap, when she was struck in the upper back with an 8.4oz plastic decorative pumpkin.

Ms. Schwartz claimed that she felt immediate pain, and that the pumpkin hit her so hard, that she sustained severe injuries to her neck, upper back, and shoulder, and had debilitating headaches and aching pain in her right arm. The employees stocking the shelves reported that they were softly tossing the decorative pumpkins and did not see a pumpkin hit Ms. Schwartz.

Plaintiff’s expert recreated the throwing incident using an exemplar pumpkin, and concluded that the pumpkin hit Ms. Schwartz, causing her injuries.

Hayes and Associates was retained by Michael E. Reed of Wicker, Smith, O’Hara, McCoy & Ford (https://www.wickersmith.com) to test the reliability of the expert’s methods and findings, and to offer opinions on whether Ms. Schwartz had been injured.

At trial, H+A President, Wilson C. “Toby Hayes, Ph.D., testified that the experimental design of Plaintiff’s expert was flawed. H+A found that the maximum throw speed of the pumpkin was far lower than reported, and that because the expert’s experiment substantially overestimated the forces on the human body, his conclusions were unreliable. H+A determined that the impact force of the pumpkin hitting Ms. Schwartz fell well below forces sustained by the human body during simple activities of daily living.  Based on these findings, Dr. Hayes testified that the contact from the decorative pumpkin did not cause her injuries.

The jury returned a defense verdict, finding that the store was not liable for injury to Ms. Schwartz.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

H+A Associate Dr. Kristen Lipscomb Becomes Certified Walkway Safety Specialist

Dr. Lipscomb is a Certified Walkway Safety Specialist

H+A associate, Kristen Lipscomb, Ph.D., completed training to become a Certified Walkway Safety Specialist on May 6, 2020. Developed by The University of North Texas, Department of Engineering Technology, the program included training in:

-        Identification, evaluation, remediation, and resolution for slip and fall hazards on walkways

-        Application of the principles of walkway safety and slip prevention

-        Risk assessment to develop comprehensive walkway safety management programs

-        The use of tribometers (a device used to study friction/slip resistance between surfaces)

The program meets the qualification requirements of ASTM F2948-13 for walkway auditors, and the requirements of a “qualified person” by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Dr. Lipscomb also holds a Certificate of Training by Walkway Management Group as a BOT-3000E Operator.

Hayes + Associates owns and can provide trained operators of the BOT-3000 E tribometer. The BOT-3000E is capable of determining the Dynamic Coefficient of Friction and is the only tribometer to meet testing protocol of the ANSI A326.3 standard test for hard surfaces and flooring materials. Contact us if you would like to verify that your floor meets this international safety standard, or if you are involved in litigation related to a fall on a commercial floor.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.

Fatal Punch Verdict: Not Guilty on Both Counts

McDonald’s brain injuries were suffered when his head hit the concrete.

On October 30, 2010, in Sioux City, Iowa, Bradley Gregg and Joseph McDonald were in a physical altercation outside a bar. During the fight, Gregg punched McDonald twice in the head, causing him to fall backward, hitting his head on the concrete. McDonald sustained skull fractures and serious bleeding of the brain, which ultimately resulted in his death. Gregg was accused of involuntary manslaughter and of assault causing serious injury.

Hayes+Associates was retained by Mr. Michael Williams, of the Sioux City, Iowa Adult Public Defender Office to determine if the blows to McDonald’s head were forceful enough to cause his fatal brain injuries or, instead, if McDonald died from his fall and head impact on the concrete sidewalk.

Based on the biomechanical reconstructions of the punching blows to McDonald’s head and the impact to the back of his head from the sidewalk, the H+A analysis showed that while the punch from Gregg likely knocked McDonald unconscious, (a finding substantiated by McDonald’s failure to react reflexively), the punch was not violent enough to cause the fatal head injuries McDonald sustained.

At trial, founder and president, Wilson C. “Toby” Hayes, Ph.D., testified that instead, McDonald’s brain injuries were suffered when his head hit the concrete. Subsequently, after deliberating for three and one half hours, the jury found Gregg not guilty on both counts.

Hayes+Associates, Inc. (https://www.hayesassoc.com) is an expert witness and consulting firm based in Corvallis, OR. The company brings more than 75 years of collective experience in academic research, university teaching and forensic testimony to practice areas that include vehicle collisions, premises safety, slips and falls, products liability, worker safety, sports and recreation, patent litigation and criminal matters.