Curriculum Vitae
Michael von Haenel
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Education

A.B. University of Southern California - 1976

• Interdivisional Scholar
• Cambridge University, England (1974-76)

M.S. University of Southern California - 1985

• Thesis work: Perceptual PsychoPhysics

J.D. Southwestern University - 1981

• S. C. A. L. E.

Professional Licenses, Certifications and Affiliations

• Admitted to California Bar 1988
• Certified by California State Bar to instruct attorneys in the use of Experts
• Former Member: Society of Automotive Engineers
• Former Member: Human Factors Society
• Former Member: Fire Investigation Regional Strike Team (Southern California)

Experience

von Haenel and Associates, Inc., Sacramento and Oxnard, California (1993 - Present)
President: Mr. von Haenel is currently the President of von Haenel and Associates, Inc., with offices in Sacramento and Oxnard, California. In addition to personally handling select cases, Mr. von Haenel is responsible for directing administrative and engineering services for the firm.

Nouskajian & Cranert, Pasadena, California (1990-1993)
Attorney: Mr. von Haenel was an associate in the Law Offices of Nouskajian & Cranert, a Professional Corporation. The law firm of Nouskajian & Cranert primarily handles insurance defense. However, it also maintained a portion of its caseload as Plaintiff's actions.

Office of the District Attorney, Los Angeles, California (1988-1990)
Deputy District Attorney: Mr. von Haenel represented the People of the State of California in hundreds of hearings and motions. Mr. von Haenel represented the People of the State of California in thirty five trials.

von Haenel and Associates, Glendale, California (1972-1988)
Mr. von Haenel worked part time for von Haenel and Associates as a technician from 1972-76. After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1976, Mr. von Haenel began work as a staff engineer. Between the years 1976-88, Mr. von Haenel worked continuously for von Haenel and Associates (with the exception of the time taken off for law school). Mr. von Haenel served as Chief Engineer and finally as General Manager.

Mr. von Haenel's area of specialty was Human Factors Engineering. As part of his field engineering responsibilities, Mr. von Haenel worked either as a principal investigating engineer or as a supervising engineer on thousands of accident reconstructions. As Chief Engineer and General Manager, Mr. von Haenel's duties included interviewing, hiring and training of new engineers, and the supervision of all technical work performed by staff engineers.

Mr. von Haenel was responsible for the design and delivery of seminars and workshops; dealing with various aspects of scientific accident reconstruction and effective interface with expert witnesses. Since 1981, Mr. von Haenel has delivered scores of these educational seminars to insurance carriers, police departments, private litigation firms, and public litigation offices (including the offices of the Los Angeles County Public Defender and the Los Angeles County District Attorney).

Summary

Michael von Haenel's Primary Field of Expertise: Human Factors

In addition, Mr. von Haenel is also qualified to act as principal investigator in the scientific investigation of claims involving the following types of analysis:

Human Factors:

• Driver Perception-Reaction Time
• Biomechanics of pedestrian slip/trip and fall
• Conspiguity of tripping/slipping hazards
• Perceptual PsychoPhysical Analysis
• Visual Matrixing
• Likelihood of injury resulting from Low Speed Impacts
• Comparative injury relating to use of seatbelts

Vehicles:

• Determination of speed from Skidmarks, Post-Collision Dynamics and Crush in Collisions
• Failure of Sub-Systems, including Steering, Braking, Fuel and Suspension in Collisions
  Time-motion Studies
• Determination of Critical Speed and Tipping Characteristics
  Analysis of Highways for Design/Construction Hazards

Products:

• Determination of Failure of Mechanism
• Defect in Product Design
• Defect in Manufacturing Process
  

Fire:

• Cause and Origin of fires occurring accidentally in Structures and Vehicles
• Arson

Industrial:

• Machine Design
• OSHA and Other Code Compliance
• Safety / Light Industrial Hygiene

Miscellaneous:

• Code Compliance relating to stairways, walkways and ramps
• Illumination, temperature and noise levels
• Slip and Trip analysis