Irving Scher, Ph.D.
Guidance Engineering and Applied Research
E-mail: scher@guidanceengineering.com


TITLE:

"Head and Neck Injuries in Recreational Sports: Case Studies"


ABSTRACT:

While rare, severe injuries occur in non-contact, recreational sports such as
alpine skiing and water skiing. Personal protective equipment and impact barriers are often
used to reduce the likelihood of injury, but each of these has its limits of protection.
Litigation can result from an accident in which a participant is injured severely, whether or
not the injury mitigation device was capable of protecting fully the individual. In this talk,
two cases studies will be presented that illustrate alleged design defects of: (1) water sport
helmets and (2) a ski area run out.