About Us:
Investigative Mechanics, Inc. has been in the business of determining the cause of failure for vehicle and large equipment incidents for over 27 years, servicing clients in the insurance and legal fields.
Vehicles today have become complex systems which require knowledge of the interplay between computerized sensor arrays, mechanical parts, and electrical subsystems. Our lead expert has 41 years of experience in the automotive industry - as the owner of a well respected repair facility, identifier of defects for recalls, and as an adjunct instructor at Department of Highway Traffic Safety at Michigan State University - giving him an intimate knowledge of the inter-workings of the industry. This expertise enables Investigative Mechanics to bring a unique perspective to each case due to this familiarity up and down the value chain. Determining the cause doesn't only require an understanding of the systems in the vehicle - it requires knowledge of the ways the industry self-regulates defects and updates to known problems. Often the cause of the failure is as much a result of human error in this system as an actual defect in the mechanical device.
Examples include:
- Understanding the strategies of the industry to limit culpability in establishing recalls,
- Service practices that can fail the checks and balances in the recall system, or
- Monitoring the service bulletins issued every night from both parts manufacturers and equipment assemblers which detail alerts and databasing daily.
While it is crucial to be able to pin-point the actual reasons for the failure, an equally important need is packaging the information and evidence for the next phase of the case. Our team maintains a strict set of procedures for chain of evidence and causality documentation. A client can expect reports tailored for their needs, from summaries to extensive analysis of the evidence and conclusions to prepare for trial. One of our specialities is turning the complex timeline of an accident into graphical information to make it understandable to other members of the team and juries. Our technical experts are experienced in trial litigation both for the defensive and plaintiff positions. We have investigated over 500 cases giving testimony in deposition for discovery and/or trial as an expert witness in more than 70 trials at the Federal, State, Circuit, and District level in both Civil and Criminal situations.
Our firm is conveniently located in central Michigan making it readily possible to provide immediate service to our clients throughout the Midwest, United States and abroad.
I-69 exit 92 - Webster Rd,
Go North to Clark Rd & West to Main Street
13925 Main Street - P.O. Box 340
Bath, Michigan 48808-0340
office: 517-641-6600
fax: 517-641-7300
e-mail: bwilson@investigativemechanics.com