There’s been a serious traffic accident. People were gravely injured. Or killed, as were 37,133 people in the US in 2017. The injured have arrived at hospitals. Wreckage has finally been cleared, roads re-opened. Afterward, the questions loom before victims and their families: How could this have happened? Who’s fault was it? That’s when the art and science of traffic accident reconstruction enter the picture.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Auto accident Attorneys, for plaintiffs and for defendants, learn early in their careers that there are rarely simple answers to these questions. Accident victims need to understand that an insurance company’s lawyers will find ways to complicate what seems a straightforward event. Their job, to be sure, is to cast doubt on plaintiffs’ claims. Claims that put their client’s insured at fault. They are very, very good at this. In any traffic accident, the list of potential contributing factors is very long. Cars, after all, are complex machines. Thousands of parts can fail. Human beings are even more complex. Numerous variables undeniably affecting driving. Additionally, there’s lighting, weather, road conditions, signage, traffic conditions..on and on.
One way or the other, the parties’ attorneys form accounts of what happened. What, and who caused the accident. The higher the stakes, the more likely attorneys are to engage specialists in this field.
TRAFFIC ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION
Traffic accident reconstructionists (TARs) seek and use all possible information to work up their accounts of crashes. Sources of evidence are numerous. It requires know-how and experience to know what these are and how to exploit them. TARs collect evidence from the scene of an accident, of course. Also from people involved directly and indirectly. They study the vehicles involved. Equally important, they document the environmental conditions at the time and place of the crash.
TARs use data, too. From traffic cams, for example. As well as mobile phones, GPS, and local business security cameras. They tap cars’ Onboard Event Recorders. TAR is a recognized professional specialty. A trained TAR expert applies several scientific disciplines to the job. They often work as teams. Civil, mechanical, biomechanical and electrical engineers, computer forensics experts, and physicians all contribute.
The end product of a TAR is a presentation which reconstructs the crash. Second by second, in fine detail. This often includes a high-tech animation for a visual replay of the events, based on the data and calculations of the experts.
TAR IN COURT
Expert TAR is a vital tool. Our Boca Raton car accident attorneys have long experience in deploying it for our clients. Tying all the facts together, an expert TAR is hard for defendants’ lawyers to shoot down. Facts are facts. The laws of physics, by the same token, are not subject to appeal. Thus, viewing the TAR pressures defendants’ lawyers to settle. If you’ve been involved in a traffic accident with serious injury or fatality, call us as soon as possible. Our traffic accident reconstruction team can go to work for you.
