Background
Dr. Lino Garcia holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical/Civil Engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Garcia is also an accredited accident reconstructionist through The Canadian Association of Technical Accident Investigators and Reconstructionists and the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionists (ACTAR #3118).
His research area of focus was rollover propensity of heavy trucks on highway curves under various loading conditions. His background has provided him with experience in vehicle and machinery mechanical inspections and failure analysis, motor vehicle accident reconstruction, heavy truck collision analysis, bicycle and pedestrian accident reconstruction, human factors (visibility, perception-reaction time), seatbelt/child seat assessment, low-speed collision analysis and occupant kinematics, highway geometric design assessment and roadside safety assessment, assessment of winter maintenance roadway operations, and computer simulation. Dr. Garcia is a certified operator of the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval system and also has experience with downloading and analyzing data from Engine Control Modules (ECMs) in commercial vehicles. Dr. Garcia is professionally trained and certified by the Berla Corporation on vehicles’ infotainment system removal, data acquisition, and analysis. He has also taught undergraduate courses on vehicle dynamics.
He has reconstructed accidents involving commercial tractor/trailers, high-speed fatality collisions, daytime and nighttime pedestrian accidents, car-bicycle and car-motorcycle collisions, vehicle rollovers, and low-speed collisions. He also evaluates intersection collisions involving traffic signal timing analysis. He has worked on mechanical failure analysis of vehicles and industrial machinery components. He has worked on cases involving fraud investigations through the analysis of digital data from vehicle infotainment systems and mobile devices. He has worked on product liability cases involving vehicle systems and motorcycles. He has provided expert testimony in Ontario, Canada, and Texas. Dr. Garcia is also a certified operator of aerial boom and aerial scissor lifts. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Education and Certifications
· Mechanical/Civil Engineering, Ph.D.: University of Brunswick (2000)
· Mechanical Engineering, B.S.: Instituto Superior Politecnico “José A. Echeverría” (currently University of Technology), Havana, Cuba (1982)
· Registered Professional Engineer: Texas (2016 – 2019)
· Certified operator of the Vehicle Forensic Infotainment Data Analysis Digital Tool (iVe): Berla Corporation (2016)
· Registered Professional Engineer (PEO): Ontario, Canada (2006)
· Accredited Accident Reconstructionist: The Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionists ACTAR #3118 (2018)
· Accredited Accident Reconstructionist: The Canadian Association of Technical Accident Investigators and Reconstructionists (CATAIR) (2016)
· Certified Aerial Boom and Aerial Scissor Lift Operator: United Academy, ID #2445000 (2017)
· Bosch CDR Certified Operator: Collision Safety Institute (2005)
Publications
· “Examples of Forensic Investigations Using the Berla iVe Digital Tool,” EDR Summit, March 9 – 11, 2020, Houston, Texas.
· “Case Study on Damage Compatibility Analysis,” USAA Insurance (Continuing Education Program presentation), November 6, 2018.
· “Vehicle Infotainment System Data Acquisition and Analysis,” (USAA Insurance (Continuing Education Program presentation, November 6, 2018.
· “Using iVe Technology for Vehicle Forensic Investigations,” (Accepted for Presentation) National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP) Annual Conference, November 5 -8, 2017.
· “iVe Technology for Vehicle Forensic Investigations,” (Presentation) GEICO Insurance, Continuing Education Program, April 21, 2017.
· “iVe Vehicle System Forensic,” Texas Association of Special Investigation Units (TASIU) Task Force Meeting (Continuing Education Program presentation), November 9, 2016.
· “iVe Vehicle System Forensic,” Allstate Insurance Counsel Office, (Continuing Education Program Presentation) November 2, 2016.
· “Low Speed Impacts and Injury Biomechanics,” Seminar Speaker, Motors Insurance.
· “Comparison of Measured Lateral Accelerations on Heavy Trucks with Calculated Rollover Threshold Values – An Input to Accident Reconstruction,” ITAC 6th International Conference, pp. 209 – 228, Sept. 26-29, 2003.
· “Evaluation of Heavy Truck Rollover Characteristics via over the Road Testing,” Heavy Truck Rollover and Collision Avoidance TOPTEC (Presentation), Society of Automotive Engineers, April 2003.
· “Analysis of the Dynamic Response of Heavy Trucks on Highway Curves Under Actual Operating Conditions,” Transportation Research Board (Presentation), Jan. 2003.
· “Study of Systems to Indicate the Position of a Hand Operated Switch on Non-Signaled Rail Lines,” Transportation Development Centre – Safety and Security, Transport Canada, 2001.
· “Literature Review Of Material Citing Accident Causation Factors Related To Heavy Trucks,” Transportation Research Board, 2000.
· “Lateral Stability of Heavy Trucks Under Actual Operating Conditions,” (Presentation) 6th International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions, June 2000.
· “Maintenance Management and Troubleshooting of Road Vehicles,” CUBA, Technical Brochure, 1989.