Successfully litigating motor vehicle accident claims often depends on the effective use of expert evidence. Understanding how forensic crash investigators analyse collisions, reconstruct events and test competing versions of an incident can help personal injury lawyers identify liability issues, assess the strengths and weaknesses of a case, and maximise outcomes for their clients. Using case studies from gain valuable insights into the role of forensic crash investigators, how to brief experts effectively, and the emerging technologies and trends that are reshaping accident investigation and motor vehicle litigation. Gain a clearer understanding of the evidence that can make or break a claim and develop strategies for working more effectively with experts throughout the life of a matter.
Friday, 16 October 2026
1.00pm to 2.00pm Forensic Crash Investigation in Practice for Personal Injury Lawyers
What an Expert Can (and Cannot) Provide
- Understand the role of the forensic crash investigators in personal injury litigation
- When expert evidence is likely to add value to a claim
- Forensic crash investigation methodologies and typical analysis undertaken
- Common assumptions tested through analysis and how they may affect liability findings
- Limitations of expert evidence and issues that may remain outside an expert's scope
- Evaluating the reliability and weight of competing expert opinions
Briefing the Expert Effectively
- Why the quality of the brief can significantly influence the value of the expert report
- Essential documents and evidence to include in a brief
- Police reports
- Witness statements
- Photographs, dashcam and CCTV footage
- Medical and occupational evidence where relevant
- Vehicle inspection reports and engineering evidence
- Formulating effective questions that assist rather than constrain the expert
- Working collaboratively with experts during investigations and report preparation
- Common briefing pitfalls that can undermine the usefulness of expert evidence
- Preparing experts for conferences, mediations and court proceedings
Emerging Trends and Issues
- The rise of e-mobility: e-scooters, e-bikes and personal mobility devices
- Unique liability and causation challenges arising from micro-mobility incidents
- Increasing reliance on vehicle diagnostics and electronic data
- Emerging legal issues associated with autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles
- How changing road design and infrastructure can influence liability assessments
- The growing role of human factors analysis in crash investigations
- Understanding the Safe System approach to road safety and its relevance to negligence claims
- Anticipating future developments in crash reconstruction technology and their implications for personal injury litigation
Presented by David Beck, Principal, Datum Road Safety and Johann Tay, Founding Principal, TVL
Meet your panellists:
David Beck is a road safety expert witness and consultant with extensive expertise in automotive and road safety engineering. With over two decades of experience, David has contributed to a wide range of national research projects, crash test programs, and safety standards. His foundation in biomedical, mechanical, and traffic engineering—supported by postgraduate qualifications—allows him to take a multidisciplinary approach to crash causation and injury prevention. David is highly regarded for his expertise in forensic crash investigation and expert witness work, where he is recognised for clear, considered analysis and the ability to communicate complex technical findings with clarity and credibility.
Johann Tay has authoritative, degree-qualified expertise across all three primary elements of the road transport system — the road infrastructure, the vehicle, and the driver — combined with the human factors knowledge and legal literacy to apply that expertise in court and policy settings. Over 25 years, he has worked across research, government, public policy, fleet operations, and consulting. He has appeared as a court-appointed Expert Witness in criminal and civil proceedings, conducted road safety audits across Victoria and nationally, led technology and innovation programs for a major public transport operator, and presented research at the Australasian Road Safety Conference in consecutive years.
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Presenters
David Beck, Principal, Datum Road SafetyDavid Beck is a road safety expert witness and consultant with extensive expertise in automotive and road safety engineering. His work spans vehicle systems and performance, human tolerance and injury biomechanics and road design and the Safe System approach. His foundation in biomedical, mechanical, and traffic engineering—supported by postgraduate qualifications—allows him to take a multidisciplinary approach to crash causation and injury prevention. With over two decades of experience, David has contributed to a wide range of national research projects, crash test programs, and safety standards. His work includes examining the real-world performance of protective clothing and helmets, child restraint systems, e‑mobility devices and emerging autonomous and connected vehicle technologies. David is highly regarded for his expertise in forensic crash investigation and expert witness work, where he is recognised for clear, considered analysis and the ability to communicate complex technical findings with clarity and credibility. He regularly provides advice to legal practitioners, insurers, government agencies, and industry clients across a range of safety and liability matters. Beyond his technical work, David is an active committee member in the NSW Chapter of the Australasian College of Road Safety and a respected mentor within the road safety community, supporting the next generation of professionals committed to a Safe System.
Johann Tay, Founding Principal, TVL
Johann Tay is one of a small number of practitioners in Australia with authoritative, degree-qualified expertise across all three primary elements of the road transport system — the road infrastructure, the vehicle, and the driver — combined with the human factors knowledge and legal literacy to apply that expertise in court and policy settings. He founded Traffic Vehicles & Logistics Pty Ltd in 2013 on the premise that the road transport system is best understood as a whole, and that the most consequential insights come from examining how its elements interact — not from treating them in isolation. Over 25 years, he has worked across research, government, public policy, fleet operations, and consulting — building on an early career in technology that gives his engineering practice a depth of digital literacy uncommon in the road safety field. He has appeared as a court-appointed Expert Witness in criminal and civil proceedings, conducted road safety audits across Victoria and nationally, led technology and innovation programs for a major public transport operator, and presented research at the Australasian Road Safety Conference in consecutive years.
