I assume all plaintiff’s trials lawyers are familiar with Newton’s three laws of motion and their significance in impact injury cases. They explain how people are injured and even offer a means of calculating the forces involved. For example in a rear end auto collision case, it may be possible for the expert to calculate the force of the impact and then translate that into an easily understood analogy such as "a 50 lb bag of potatoes striking the driver from the rear at 20 mph." The three laws of motion are as follows:

Newton’s first law of motion: "Every object in a st ate of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it."The driver of acar stopped for a stop light is in a state of rest and remains so unless an external force, such as a rear end collision, is applied. It means that the driver’s head and body are at one point while the vehicle is driven forward by the blow resulting in the head going backwards with force.

Newton’s Second law of motion: "F=ma. The relationship between an object’s mass, m, its acceleration a and the applied force F. This formula allows calculation of the measure of dynamics.

Newton’s Third law of motion: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" This means that when the vehicle finally stops (usually by slamming on brakes or striking a car or object in front) the head and body are now flung forward resulting in the classic "whiplash" injury as the brain and soft tissues are thrown back and forth in response to Newton’s laws of motion.

By application of proven laws of physics we can translate scientifically how force produces injuries to our client in a way that skeptical jurors can understand. —–