It is not unusual after a car accident for everyone involved in the crash to have a different explanation about what happened. People’s memories can be tricky, especially after a traumatic event. This is why law firms such as Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer sometimes seek the help of accident reconstruction specialists to determine what happened in a serious car crash.
Accident reconstruction applies forensic investigative techniques to answer questions about the circumstances, mechanics, road conditions, and other contributing factors associated with a collision. It is a discipline that utilizes the principles of physics, engineering, mathematics, and photogrammetry (interpreting photographs) to recreate accidents.
Car accident reconstruction specialists analyze a variety of technical data to develop a detailed report about a car accident, which they present as expert witnesses if a case goes to court. In court, the specialist can offer multi-media presentations to supplement their testimony, which often proves to be highly persuasive to a jury.
How Do Accident Reconstruction Experts Recreate a Collision?
A car accident investigation typically begins with a review of the accident report filed by police and interviews with the responding officers. A police report should contain a brief description of what the responding officer thinks happened and any readily identifiable causes. Next comes an inspection of the accident site to document the point of impact, final resting positions, skid marks, and pavement gouge marks. Accident scene measurements are usually taken using electronic surveying equipment, which can produce a computer-generated scale diagram of the accident.
If the vehicles are available (have not been repaired or junked), their damage will be recorded in detail. Mechanical components such as brakes, steering, tires, suspension, and lights may be inspected and tested to determine whether their condition may have contributed to the accident. It’s important to work with an experienced attorney who has the resources and knowledge to move quickly to secure access to a wrecked vehicle before the vehicle is taken to a junkyard and crushed and any possible evidence lost.
When available, the investigator will download data from the cars’ Event Data Recorders (EDRs). As soon as an airbag is deployed in a collision, for example, a vehicle’s EDR instantly records such data as:
- Date and time
- Vehicle speed
- Change in velocity (Delta-V)
- Longitudinal acceleration
- Lateral acceleration
- Brake application
- ABS activity
- Seatbelt usage
- Percent throttle
- Engine speed
- Steering wheel angle
- Yaw rate
- Roll angle
- Gear selection
- Tire pressure
Once this information has been gathered, a properly trained investigator can reconstruct the accident. An accident reconstruction determines the speed of each vehicle and their relative positions at intervals – just before the collision, at the point of impact, and when each vehicle came to rest. Equations used to reconstruct the accident are based on such information as:
- Vehicle speed
- Pre- and post-impact direction of travel
- Length of pre-impact skid marks
- Distances moved post-impact
- Friction values for the various surfaces the vehicles traveled over
- Point of impact
- Impact angles
- Weights of the vehicles
With all this evidence collected and measurements made, an accident reconstruction expert can create different scenarios of how the accident could have occurred and create computer simulations of each scenario. In some cases, a specialist may craft models of the accident.
In addition to demonstrating what happened, an accident reconstruction specialist’s report may include his or her expert opinion as to:
- Driver actions or errors that caused or contributed to the crash
- Actions either driver could have taken to avoid the crash
- How injuries occurred
If the case goes to court, the specialist will be qualified as an expert witness and present testimony supported by a multi-media report that establishes a timeline of what happened at each point in the accident. The presentation may connect each party involved in the crash to certain actions and behavior as the accident progressed.
Act Promptly So Accident Reconstruction Can Help Your Accident Claim
Accident reconstruction requires prompt access to the vehicles involved in a car accident and to the accident scene. It is important to examine the vehicles as they existed after the crash. In time, a car that was in a wreck may be repaired or junked. If a vehicle is declared a total loss, it will be taken to a junkyard and destroyed. Meanwhile, time and weather will degrade the accident scene, and crucial evidence that may be obtained there can be lost forever.
It’s crucial to contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as you can if you have been injured in a car accident in Lexington or elsewhere in Kentucky. Our car accident attorneys at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer will move quickly to be sure the accident scene is examined and documented. Our attorneys also send preservation letters to notify parties connected to the accident of the necessity of preserving any evidence they may have. In some cases, an attorney may need to get a court order to ensure that the other driver’s car or truck is preserved and made available to the accident victim’s legal team.
Kentucky’s statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit based on a motor vehicle accident is two years from the date of the crash. Contacting an attorney as soon as possible can help expedite the investigation process should it become necessary to engage an accident reconstruction expert to help develop a car accident injury claim.
Contact a Lexington Car Accident Attorney
If you’ve been seriously injured by another motorist while driving in Lexington, let the car accident attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer help you seek the compensation you need to cover your medical expenses and move forward with your life. If we handle your case, we will act immediately to preserve evidence and start our investigation of your accident. If necessary, we can bring in an accident reconstruction expert we regularly work with as soon as we identify the need.
Contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer right away at (877) 809-5352 or online to set up your free consultation. Find out how Kentucky Courage can help you demand justice and full compensation.
