School supervision
sightline
reconstruction.

Could staff see the student from where they stood? Negligent supervision cases often turn on that question, and on testimony that the student was in view. We rebuild the rooms from measurements and let a mediator, judge, or jury test the answer from every position staff could have held. Each reconstruction illustrates your expert's opinion.

Start with a brief call → See the school case

CR-2024-001 · Interactive sightline tool

Two rooms. No position that covered both.

Top-down view with a cone of sight. The staff member can be placed anywhere.

A special education student was assaulted by a peer in a sensory room next to his classroom. The school district's position was that staff would have seen it if it had happened.

We scanned both rooms with lidar for dimensions and photogrammetry for surface and lighting detail, then rebuilt them in Unreal Engine 5 with the real doorways and windows.

Anyone at the mediation could move the staff member around the room, in a top-down view or in first person, and look for a spot where both rooms could be adequately supervised. There wasn't one.

The mediator cited the tool as a key factor, and the case settled for $8 million, as reported by Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire. In 2026, trial counsel received the Outstanding Advocate Award from Consumer Attorneys of San Diego for the case.

"The mediator was playing the video game, trying to understand what we were saying."

John O'Brien · Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire

Read the case →

What we model

What changes what staff can see.

01

Room layout and adjacency

Doorways, interior windows, partitions, and how adjoining rooms connect, at measured dimensions.

02

Staff positions and eye height

Where each adult was, from testimony and assignments, at seated and standing eye heights.

03

Furniture and equipment

Shelving, mats, dividers, and equipment placed where the evidence puts them. Where no record of the earlier layout exists, we model the room as found and document that choice.

04

Glass, light, and time of day

Window tint, reflections, and lighting your expert identifies. A clear line of sight isn't always visibility.

Why interactive

Supervision is a question about every position.

A video answers whether staff could see the student from one spot. A supervision case usually turns on whether any reasonable position would have worked: by the door, at the desk, between the rooms, seated or standing.

An interactive tool lets the other side and the mediator try those positions themselves. When they find the answer on their own, it holds.

How we work

Five steps, start to handoff.

01

Start with the question and the expert

We begin with the supervision opinion the exhibit has to illustrate and the expert who will sponsor it.
02

Measure the rooms

Lidar rebuilds the rooms at exact dimensions. Photogrammetry captures surface and lighting detail. If the rooms have changed, we work from whatever photos and records exist, and note where they run out.
03

Set the viewpoints

Staff positions and eye heights come from measurements, deposition testimony, and staffing records, not from a convenient camera angle.
04

Add the conditions

Furniture where the evidence places it, lighting, glass, and the time of day at issue, each set to the values your expert specifies.
05

Hand it off

Every input is logged and handed to the sponsoring expert to review and sign off. You get the interactive tool or video, stills, and a walkthrough with a live demo, a recording, or a written guide.

In court

Your expert holds the opinion.

The reconstruction doesn't decide whether supervision was adequate. Your supervision or human factors expert does. The exhibit illustrates that opinion, and in California it is admitted as demonstrative evidence when it accurately depicts the opinion (People v. Duenas, 2012; People v. Caro, 2019).

Every position, dimension, and condition traces back to the record, so the foundation questions have answers.

Admissibility rules vary by court and by judge, and your trial team makes that call.How courts treat demonstrative evidence →

FAQ

Questions attorneys ask.

Q-01

When should I bring you in?

+

Before the site inspection if you can. Classrooms get reassigned, furniture moves, and summer work changes rooms. An early scan preserves them. If the rooms have already changed, we rebuild from photos, plans, and testimony, and document anything modeled as found rather than as it was.

Q-02

Who testifies to it?

+

Your supervision or human factors expert sponsors the opinion. We document how the exhibit was built, input by input, so foundation questions have answers.

Q-03

Will it survive a motion in limine?

+

No exhibit is guaranteed. We build to the Duenas and Caro standard and give you the data log, viewpoint sources, and sign-off record to argue foundation.

Q-04

What do you need from me?

+

Floor plans or access for a scan, photos from the time of the incident, testimony on where each adult was, your expert's opinion, and the dates and times at issue.

Q-05

What does it cost?

+

It depends on scope: how many rooms are scanned, how many positions matter, and video or interactive. After a brief call, we'll give you a defined scope and a quote.

Q-06

Can you work to an expert deadline?

+

Yes. Rush work under two weeks is available, and we have delivered ahead of expert deadlines and mediation dates.

Q-07

Do you work for plaintiffs or defendants?

+

Both.

All line-of-sight and visibility work →

Contact

Start with
a brief call.

Tell us about the case and what the mediator or jury needs to understand. If we can help, we'll say so directly. If not, we'll refer you to someone who can.

Send an inquiry +1 (619) 736-9921

Some matters resolved under confidential terms, so specific figures are not listed. Results depend on case-specific facts and do not predict future outcomes.