J.S. Held Acquires Clark Seif Clark, Strengthening West Coast Capabilities for Environmental Claims, Disputes, and Catastrophe Response
Read MoreJ.S. Held’s forensic visualization experts produce animations, graphics, interactive media, and virtual reality environments that transform complex concepts and situations into clear, accessible visuals.
Clients, jurors, mediators, and judges can benefit from the clarity of simple, scientific-based visual products. Recognized by the global authority in mobility standards development, our experts conduct research that continues to drive the industry forward and advance our visualization capabilities to further serve clients in the resolution of complex disputes.
View the video to learn more about our areas of expertise and to see examples of our work.
As leaders in photogrammetry, nighttime visibility analysis, video reenactments, computer modeling, photo and video analysis, and simulation, we recreate events and dissect issues to help clients understand what happened, why, and the role of stakeholders involved. Our analysis is translated into high-impact outputs including forensic animations, physical models, 3D visualizations, interactive exhibits, and graphics designed to communicate expert conclusions with clarity.
To view examples of our visualization services, click here.
View the video to learn more about our areas of expertise and to see examples of our work.
Our experts have reconstructed thousands of accidents involving vehicles of all types, motorcycles, commercial and industrial equipment, personal transportation equipment (bicycles, scooters, etc.), boats, planes, and trains.
By employing cutting-edge simulation and analytical techniques, our team gathers, analyzes, and interprets physical and digital evidence to deliver an accurate picture of how an accident happened. Our engineers and visualization staff work together to illustrate and communicate the sequence of events leading to a collision or injury in scientifically accurate, court-admissible visuals. Our reconstructions are tailored to support causation analysis and liability determination in litigation, mediation, and insurance contexts.
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In construction disputes, our visualization experts help to illustrate complex delay, disruption, and defect issues in a matter that is easily understood:
Construction Defect Visualization
Our visualization experts develop graphics, models, and animations that depict the cause and effect of construction defect issues.
Construction Delay Visualization
The complexity of interdependence within construction schedules can be made clear through interactive timelines. This form of media is ideally suited to show when an event occurred visually and the subsequent impacts on the project.
These visualizations allow legal teams and experts to walk through voluminous data to highlight critical milestones, documents, concurrent delay impacts, and the progression of disrupted schedules in an organized manner, with the ability to move from one section of the project to another instantly.
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In product liability cases, we provide detailed animations that communicate potential design issues, as well as the intended and resulting performance of a product, and how these design features and performance relate to the cause of an accident. This information helps simplify what happened, why, and how a design feature may relate to an accident in personal injury or property damage claims.
Design Evaluation Visualizations
We analyze and depict critical product design features, component interactions, and intended safety mechanisms. These visuals help demonstrate whether the design met applicable standards or failed to prevent foreseeable risks.
Product Failure Analysis
Our visualizations reconstruct product malfunctions, material failures, or misuse scenarios. These reconstructions help clarify the cause of failure and highlight the differences between as-designed and as-failed conditions.
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Use of force investigations often involve conflicting footage, fragmented narratives, and subjective eyewitness accounts. Our forensic visualization experts specialize in transforming material body-worn camera (BWC) footage, surveillance video, smartphone recordings, and photographs into grounded, easy-to-understand visual narratives.
Analytical Techniques
We conduct frame-by-frame video analysis and photogrammetry to clarify positioning, timing, and movements of individuals involved. These methods are particularly useful for analyzing officer-involved shootings, compliance disputes, crowd control incidents, and police procedure reviews, among other use cases.
Visual Formats
Following our analysis, the findings can then be represented in simple forms of animation, still graphics, or a virtual reality environment that allows a participant to have a real and precise experience of an event that has already occurred. Photogrammetric 3D analysis of 2D video and photographs also provides the viewer with the opportunity to witness the event from a different vantage point. This experience allows a better understanding of what happened at the time of the event and helps courts and investigative bodies better understand what occurred and assess the actions taken.
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Medical malpractice cases often involve procedures that are difficult to explain using traditional documents or testimony alone. Our forensic visualization experts take the complicated details of a medical malpractice case and create clear, physics-based animations and 3D graphics that depict what occurred, what should have occurred, and where deviations from the standard of care may have taken place.
These visuals help clarify complex concepts including surgical techniques, anatomy, injury mechanisms, and provider actions—providing a powerful tool for explaining medical evidence to juries, legal teams, and insurance professionals. The 3D environment allows for unlimited access to what might otherwise be an occluded procedure or medical event.
Cases involving questions about nighttime visibility require an understanding of the lighting conditions at the accident scene and the effect that this lighting had on the driver’s visibility of other vehicles, pedestrians, or objects. Our forensic visualization team performs scientifically grounded analyses to evaluate what could be seen, when, and under what conditions in low-visibility scenarios. These studies are essential in litigation involving pedestrian collisions, obstructed intersections, roadway lighting deficiencies, and perception-reaction time claims.
Our team is able to demonstrate visibility conditions at the time of the accident through the use of calibrated video, photographic equipment, and high-dynamic-range imaging methods, which help lay the groundwork for understanding what scene features were visible, and at what time during the accident sequence they became visible. Our visibility reenactment work has been accepted in court and shown to jurors throughout the United States.
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Our visualization experts work alongside biomechanical engineers and human factors scientists to analyze body motion, impact forces, and injury mechanisms in both personal and sports injury cases.
We use peer-reviewed methods and cutting-edge visualization technology to generate scientifically accurate representations that help research teams to better understand complex biomechanical concepts and legal teams clearly communicate critical information related to personal or sports injuries in proceedings.
Our visualization and analysis services in these matters extend to personal injuries in:
In prior engagements, our experts have collaborated with the National Football League (NFL) and National Hockey League (NHL), as well as in high school sports-related incidents.
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Photo and video analysis can be helpful in many disciplines and types of civil and criminal cases, including use of force, sports injuries, biomechanics, vehicle accident reconstruction, nighttime visibility, premises liability, fire origin, and shootings.
Our photo and video forensic analysis capabilities include:
Our team is experienced in analyzing media from a variety of devices, including surveillance footage, cell phones, dash cameras, body-worn cameras, sports cameras, 360-degree or virtual reality cameras, and professional video cameras.
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Photogrammetry is the science of making reliable measurements through the analysis of photographs or video. This technology helps determine factors such as position, shape, distance, and characteristics of people, vehicles, or other objects visible in a video. Photogrammetry can play a critical role in the analysis of an event, and the speed, acceleration, position, and orientation of objects, people, and vehicles in a video or photograph.
Our experts have been using camera-matching photogrammetry and photogrammetric techniques for decades, publishing over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications, classes, and books on the topic. We continue to lead the research in this area nationally. We use both traditional and advanced forms of photogrammetry to produce spatially accurate reconstructions and precise visuals that support litigation, insurance claims, and forensic investigation.
Our photogrammetry capabilities Include:
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When structures collapse or critical systems fail, visualizing the sequence of events can provide critical insight to reveal causation and impact.
Our visualization team works closely with in-house forensic engineers to recreate events such as building failures and collapses, equipment malfunctions, or property damage incidents, transforming data into scientifically accurate animations and illustrations.
These visual models are used in legal disputes, insurance claims, and investigative presentations to clarify the cause, extent, and duration of damage and clearly communicate the sequence of events, where and when failures originated, how they spread, and the resulting impact.
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J.S. Held’s visualization team leverages a number of methods and techniques to analyze and visualize the origin, cause, and propagation of fires and explosions, including wildfires.
We use photogrammetry, photo analysis, video analysis, and the application of augmented reality to establish where the fire/explosion originated, what caused the fire/explosion, and to define a timeline of the event. These findings are shown in sophisticated, dynamic, and scientifically-based graphics, animations, and physical models.
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Our insights cover a variety of topics impacting businesses, society, the economy, and the environment. Check out our latest white papers, research reports, educational seminars, industry speaking engagements, and perspective articles.
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