Journal of Forensic Biomechanics

Hayes + Associates, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

Biography

Dr Erik D. Power, M.S., P.E., consults in the areas of vehicular accident reconstruction and injury biomechanics. He is a Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of Oregon, and a Fully Accredited Traffic Accident Reconstructionist. Mr Power earned his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration on injury biomechanics from Virginia Tech, where he worked in the Virginia Tech Center for Injury Biomechanics Laboratory.

Publications

• Case Report   
  Impact Forces and Injury Potential from Landing on Large Inflatable Airbags
  Author(s): Erik D Power*, Jeremy J Bauer and Wilson C Hayes
  
  This paper presents the impact forces associated with landing on a large inflatable airbag. A set of experiments was performed for a litigated case in which a man suffered injuries upon landing on a large airbag being used as an attraction/ride at a music festival. The man jumped off a 27-foot high platform, landed headfirst on the airbag and sustained a fracture to his cervical spine. To determine the impact forces involved, experiments were conducted by releasing instrumented kettlebells onto an exemplar airbag. Results demonstrated that the man’s cervical spine was subjected to 1,100 lbs of compression, which exceeded published neck injury tolerance limits. In addition to neck injuries, landing on the airbag with an outstretched arm or leg has a high potential to cause injuries to the upper or lower extremities, respectively. These results are useful and offer a strong cautio.. View more»
  

  Abstract PDF