Dana Thornton joined J.S. Held in July of 2021 as part of J.S. Held's acquisition of Kineticorp. Mr. Thornton has over twelve years of experience in forensic engineering. He has investigated and reconstructed accidents involving bicycles, motorcycles, passenger cars, buses, and commercial vehicles including articulated truck and trailer combinations. Dana has focused on product liability regarding rollover crashes that were preceded by tire disablements, occupant protection, fuel-fed fires, and other crashworthiness claims including component-specific issues such as seat back yielding/failure. He has also worked with premises liability and negligence cases, many of which incorporate his training in Human Factors, covering topics such as nighttime visibility and perception response time. Dana has conducted testing and analysis of motorcycle dynamics, motorcycle acoustics, and passenger vehicle dynamics relating to tire tread separation. He has a passion for teaching and is available to provide a Continuing Legal Education presentation on any of the topics involved in Accident Reconstruction.
Dana is involved in project management, analysis, and business development. He has extensive involvement in numerous major loss assignments throughout the United States and has consulted on large complex losses involving major automotive manufacturers and others. He uses his passion for teaching to bring clarity to complex topics.
Key Expertise
- Accident Reconstruction
- Product Liability
- Premises Liability
- Negligence
- Human Factors Related to Accident Reconstruction
- Motorcycle Dynamics
- Passenger Vehicle Dynamics
- Data Retrieval Software
Professional Affiliations/Memberships/Licenses/Training:
- PE PE53583 / AL [State of Alabama Engineering License]
- PE 79742 / AZ [State of Arizona Engineering License]
- PE 22327 / AR [State of Arkansas Engineering License]
- PE 41915 / CA [State of California Engineering License]
- PE 0063264 / CO [State of Colorado Engineering License]
- PE PEN.0037244 / CT [State of Connecticut Engineering License]
- PE 29437 / DE [State of Delaware Engineering License]
- PE 98155 / FL [State of Florida Engineering License]
- PE PE051345 / GA [State of Georgia Engineering License]
- PE P-22586 / ID [State of Idaho Engineering License]
- PE 62.075782 / IL [State of Illinois Engineering License]
- PE PE12301060 / IN [State of Indiana Engineering License]
- PE P28522 / IA [State of Iowa Engineering License]
- PE 30164 / KS [State of Kansas Engineering License]
- PE 39404 / KY [State of Kentucky Engineering License]
- PE PE.0048487 / LA [State of Louisiana Engineering License]
- PE PE18366 / ME [State of Maine Engineering License]
- PE 61768 / MD [State of Maryland Engineering License]
- PE 58712 / MA [State of Massachusetts Engineering License]
- PE 6201313066 / MI [State of Michigan Engineering License]
- PE 62240 / MN [State of Minnesota Engineering License]
- PE 34705 / MS [State of Mississippi Engineering License]
- PE 2023041108 / MO [State of Missouri Engineering License]
- PE PEL-PE-LIC-90361 / MT [State of Montana Engineering License]
- PE E-20286 / NE [State of Nebraska Engineering License]
- PE 31778 / NV [State of Nevada Engineering License]
- PE 18030 / NH [State of New Hampshire Engineering License]
- PE 24GE06013300 / NJ [State of New Jersey Engineering License]
- PE 29227 / NM [State of New Mexico Engineering License]
- PE 57422 / NC [State of North Carolina Engineering License]
- PE PE-40282 / ND [State of North Dakota Engineering License]
- PE 109247 / NY [State of New York Engineering License]
- PE PE.90016 / OH [State of Ohio Engineering License]
- PE 34519 / OK [State of Oklahoma Engineering License]
- PE 103923PE / OR [State of Oregon Engineering License]
- PE PE094995 / PA [State of Pennsylvania Engineering License]
- PE 15126 / RI [State of Rhode Island Engineering License]
- PE 42139 / SC [State of South Carolina Engineering License]
- PE 16786 / SD [State of South Dakota Engineering License]
- PE 129218 / TN [State of Tennessee Engineering License]
- PE 150511 / TX [State of Texas Engineering License]
- PE 13615756-2202 / UT [State of Utah Engineering License]
- PE 18.0135801 / VT [State of Vermont Engineering License]
- PE 0402067633 / VA [State of Virginia Engineering License]
- PE 23026534 / WA [State of Washington Engineering License]
- PE PE40001776 / WADC [Washington, District of Columbia Engineering License]
- PE 26345 / WV [State of West Virginia Engineering License]
- PE 100538 / WI [State of Wisconsin Engineering License]
- PE 19943 / WY [State of Wyoming Engineering License]
- Chair of the Colorado Chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
- Accredited Traffic Accident Reconstructionist through the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR #2754).
- Accident Reconstruction Certificate through the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
- Tau Beta Pi – The Engineering Honor Society
