WEI CHAO
B.S., M.S.
Mr. Chao employs the multiple disciplines of Accident Reconstruction, Human Factors, and Safety Analysis to identify root causes of accidents, assess injury-prevention alternatives, and recommend safety practices and procedures as they relate to post-accident evaluation. During his 20 years of service with the Institute of Risky and Safety Analyses, he has been involved in over 2,500 forensic investigations which have included vehicle and pedestrian collisions, roadway design, signal phasing, premises liability, industrial and construction safety, machinery operation, design defect, OSHA violations, and code requirements. In addition to providing timely consultation, Mr. Chao has also assisted with time-sensitive rebuttal work against opposing experts on numerous occasions.
Mr. Chao’s academic and civic contributions began as early as 1995; for example, a year after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Mr. Chao researched and designed a computer-simulating model of Resilient-Friction Base Isolator to prevent excessive damage to building structures during earthquakes. While working as a system engineer at the Fluid Research Corporation in 1998, Mr. Chao was heavily involved in design, machine configuration, research and development, and quality assurance. Since the early 2000s, he has actively participated in research and experiments with accelerometers and compiled a study titled “G-Force in Daily Activities” (2003, updated in 2014). Mr. Chao’s extensive knowledge pertaining to air-bag deployment is evident by his co-authorship of the scientific book Defining the Criteria for Air Bag Activation in Passenger Vehicle (2015).
For numerous major vehicle accidents, Mr. Chao has presented his speed reconstruction via multiple approaches, including but not limited to crush analysis (energy), momentum balance, video analysis, and CDR data analysis. He has also performed analysis pertaining to line of sight, visibility, visual cue, perception-response time, event sequence, roadway design, and via signal-timing charts to assist with determining liability issues. In some cases, he utilizes Google Earth, AutoCAD, FARO 3D scans, and animation software (e.g., 3D Max, FARO Reality) to prepare exhibits used in trials. For industrial, machinery, construction and product defect cases, Mr. Chao addresses not only code compliance (OSHA, ANSI, ADA, ASTM, etc.) issues, but also presents root cause and failure analysis via flow charts and Ishikawa (Fishbone) diagrams.
