Can a Crash Reconstruction Expert Help Win a Car Accident Lawsuit?

 Posted on May 29, 2019 in Car Accidents

If you or a member of your family suffered severe injuries in a car crash, you may be entitled to compensation not only for your medical expenses but also for a range of other damages including:

• Disfiguration

• Permanent disability or dysfunction of any part of the body

• Lost income due to time missed from work while injured.

• The inability to return to your previous line of work

• Emotional suffering and loss of enjoyment of activities you can no longer do.

However, you will only win your claim for damages if you can show that the accident was not your fault but rather was primarily due to another person’s negligence. A technical accident investigator, also known as an accident reconstruction specialist, can provide the evidence you need to prove who was at fault.

Determination of Fault Is Crucial in a Car Accident Lawsuit

In some cases, it may seem obvious who was at fault for a car accident. For example, if you were rear-ended by another car, the driver who hit you is usually found to be 100 percent at fault for the collision. If the driver in the back was paying attention and not tailgating, it is assumed that they should have been able to avoid running into you. However, there could be extenuating circumstances that could reduce the liability of the driver in the back for the collision.

In other cases, however, it is much less clear who was at fault. In a multi-car collision on a highway, for example, it may be unclear as to who made the first wrong move and is ultimately responsible for all of the damage.

As another example, suppose one driver was just clearing an intersection as the light turned yellow while the other was attempting to make a legal “right turn on red” and failed to notice the oncoming car. It can be difficult to tell who is most at fault in this type of situation. Was the first driver speeding to make it through the yellow light? Did they try to brake when they saw the second car turning into their path? It is also possible for the drivers to have different or incorrect memories of what happened.

Crash Reconstruction Experts Can Help Prove Fault

In all of the cases just described, an accident reconstruction specialist can help. In Lake County, when a crash results in severe injuries or fatalities, the Technical Crash Investigations Team may be called in. This unit of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office will map and reconstruct the accident scene to determine if a crime has been committed. These officers investigate several dozen crashes each year and aim to do so in an objective manner.

Your lawyer may also recommend hiring an independent technical accident investigator (TAI). A TAI is trained to interpret data from a car’s event data recorder (EDR) as well as physical evidence from the crash. Physical evidence can include the actual damage done to each car, where each car ended up, and any skidmarks on the road. The EDR, or “black box,” captures vehicle data such as accelerator and brake usage, steering degrees (that is, how far the steering wheel was turned right or left), and engine RPMs. All new cars made in the U.S. since September 2014 have an EDR, and many earlier models have them as well.

Consult an Experienced Lake County, Illinois Car Accident Lawyer

When a loved one is severely injured in a car crash, you may have thousands of dollars in expenses not covered by insurance and other damages that you do not even realize yet. A knowledgeable Waukegan car accident attorney can help you obtain compensation for the full extent of your damages. For a free initial consultation on your case, call Salvi & Maher, L.L.C. at 847-662-3303.

Sources:

https://www.lakecountyil.gov/861/Technical-Crash-Investigation-Team

https://www.iatai.org/