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Lumina Forensics

Forensic engineering

Illuminating the truth

Accident reconstruction, human factors, visibility and lighting, biomechanics, and digital evidence. Analyses and methodologies carried out by the experts who developed and published them.

Explore practice areas Read our research
Publications and reports
53+

Through SAE, TRB, HFES, and other venues, authored by our engineers and peer-reviewed for rigor.

Engineers and staff
8

Specialists in reconstruction, human factors, visibility, biomechanics, and digital evidence.

Practice areas
13

From collision reconstruction through injury biomechanics and digital evidence.

Offices
3

Locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego.

What we do

Practice areas

Most engagements draw on more than one of these. The reconstruction establishes what happened, the human factors analysis establishes what the driver had to work with, and the biomechanics establishes what the forces did.

Collision reconstruction

Determine the vehicles' behavior, how fast they were going, and what information the driver had to work with.

Accident reconstruction

Physical evidence, recorded data, and physics resolved into an account of the sequence of events.

Motorcycle reconstruction

Speed, avoidability, and rider behavior analyzed by engineers who race motorcycles themselves.

Event data recorders

Imaging and interpretation of vehicle, motorcycle, infotainment, and telematics data.

Testing and instrumentation

When your case involves a unique scenario, we design and validate the right tests for the case.

Human performance and injury

Evaluate what a person could see, how they responded, and the impact of the forces involved.

Human factors

Perception-response time, attention, expectancy, and what a person can reasonably be asked to notice.

Visibility and conspicuity

When an object became visible during an incident, determined with objective measurement and expert interpretation.

Biomechanical analysis

Whether the forces present in the incident were capable of producing the injuries claimed.

Premise liability

Slips, trips, and falls: surface traction, illumination, and hazard conspicuity.

Digital and spatial forensics

Get measurable, defensible data from the scene, recordings, and vehicles.

Digital media analysis

Position, speed, and timing extracted from surveillance, dash camera, and still imagery.

Audio analysis

Vehicle speed and event timing recovered from the soundtrack of a recording.

Forensically accurate media

Night scene photographs and video calibrated to depict what a witness would have perceived during an incident.

3D forensic mapping

Laser scanning, drone photogrammetry, and survey-grade documentation of scenes.

Who does the work

Our team

Each of our engineers brings their own expertise and specializations, spanning motorcycle dynamics, helmet biomechanics, audio analysis, photogrammetry, human factors, lighting, and more.

Ziad Hatab

Accident reconstruction and vehicle systems

  • Accident reconstruction
  • Automotive and brake systems
  • Microcontrollers and programming
  • 3D modeling and simulation

2 publications

Samantha McCool-Hill

Client communications and operations

  • Client communications
  • Administrative operations
  • Marketing
  • Policy, procedures, and best practices

Justin Ngo

PE, ACTAR

Accident reconstruction, human factors, and vehicle testing

  • Heavy truck and passenger vehicle reconstruction
  • Human factors: perception, attention, and response
  • Premise slip, trip, and fall analysis
  • Vehicle testing, instrumentation, and data analysis

4 publications

Louis R. Peck

PE, ACTAR

Motorcycle reconstruction, photogrammetry, and testing

  • Motorcycle reconstruction
  • Photogrammetry
  • Testing

12 publications

Christopher Romo

ACTAR

Accident reconstruction and biomechanics

  • 3D reconstruction and collision simulation
  • Biomechanics and occupant kinematics
  • EDR, HVEDR, and infotainment data acquisition
  • Mechanical inspection and restraint system analysis

Tyler Shaw

MSBE

Motorcycle reconstruction, helmet performance, and biomechanics

  • Motorcycle reconstruction
  • Helmet performance
  • Biomechanics

3 publications

Jeffrey Suway

PE, ACTAR

Visibility and conspicuity, human factors, and accident reconstruction

  • Night visibility and conspicuity
  • Lighting issues
  • Human factors
  • Accident reconstruction

27 publications

Henry V. Vega

PE, ACTAR

Accident reconstruction and audio analysis

  • Accident reconstruction, commercial and passenger vehicles
  • Audio analysis and speed determination
  • Photogrammetry, digital mapping, and video analysis
  • UAS scene capture and 3D simulation

6 publications

Peer-reviewed research

We publish the methods we rely on

Our engineers author papers for SAE, the Transportation Research Board, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. This is a small sample of what we've published recently.

See all publications

Nitere Software

The measurement toolkit behind our visibility work

Nitere Software offers a rich implementation of Lumina's peer-reviewed camera calibration and luminance estimation methodology.

We use it in our own visibility and conspicuity casework, and it is available to other practitioners who need the same kinds of measurements.

About Nitere Software

Request a case review

Send us the incident location, the date, and what is in dispute. We'll discuss what analysis is possible with the evidence that exists, and what it would take to get.

Contact us contact@luminaforensics.com