Accident cases are always complex and complicated from the legal angle. On the one hand, the victim is trying to prove damages and recover losses, while the insurance company, on the other hand, is fighting tooth and nail to dismiss the claims. The case is even more complicated in truck accidents.
Accident victims need to hire commercial truck accident attorneys at Bengal Law to represent them in such cases to improve their settlement chances and case outcomes. During the claims process, investigators and lawyers may need to contact accident reconstruction experts to understand the accident, how it happened, and prove fault.
But is accident reconstruction important? Yes.
Accident reconstruction leverages the experience and expertise of accident scene investigators who can recreate the events that led to the accident. Such recreation can help determine fault while gathering important information that can prove the case, whether for the injury victim or the insurance company.
In most cases, personal injury lawyers use accident reconstruction experts to buttress their points by providing expert testimony to support their case.
What Does Truck Accident Reconstruction Reveal?
Personal injury lawyers are committed to representing their clients and proving fault. By establishing fault, they can demand the right amount for their client’s losses. In a truck accident case, a personal injury lawyer may need to hire an accident scene reconstruction expert to discover more information about the crash.
The reconstruction expert and their services can help accident lawyers answer the following questions.
- How did the truck accident happen?
- Could the accident have been prevented?
- Who was at fault? Were both drivers following traffic rules?
- How fast was the client and truck traveling in the buildup to the accident?
- Were the drivers moving in the same or opposite directions before the crash?
- Was the accident due to human error? If so, who?
- Were the road or mechanical conditions responsible for the accident?
- Was there faulty equipment contributing to the accident?
The questions above can help an accident lawyer better understand their client’s position as well as the right legal strategy to adopt during the truck accident claim.
How Does an Accident Reconstruction Affect an Injury Case?
Accident lawyers understand the importance of evidence gathering in proving their case. More than this, they understand how the evidence available can shape their legal strategy toward achieving the desired outcome.
By hiring an accident scene reconstruction expert, injury lawyers are equipped with more evidence to analyze, putting them in a better situation to assess their client’s fault and, if any, determine the next line of action.
The reports of an accident reconstruction expert can also help injury lawyers better understand the cause of the accident and the role of each involved party, from the trucking company to the fleet maintenance company to the truck manufacturer.
What If the Investigator Is Unable to Visit the Accident Scene?
Investigators may be unable to visit the accident scene. In fact, this happens more often than not. In such instances, accident scene reconstruction can be done using photographs from the scene as well as the information contained in the police reports, traffic cams, vehicle damages, etc.
Experts can pick important points that could shape the case’s outcome by studying the information in the photographs or videos from surveillance cameras (if available).
What Does Accident Investigation Entail?
Hiring a truck accident lawyer is one side of the coin. Most lawyers go the extra mile to ensure they have all the information needed to defend their clients and their interests. This commitment may mean the attorney has to investigate the accident deeply by considering the following;
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Traffic patterns
Accident lawyers and investigators can consider the traffic patterns on the road before, during, and after the accident. Common points like intersections, missing road signs, blind spots created by foliage, unusual traffic patterns, as well as unclear or unmarked lanes may be noted.
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Weather and general road condition
The weather condition at the time of the accident can be important to understanding the accident’s cause. Foggy weather or snowy roads can contribute to accidents.
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Size difference
An average truck is hundreds to thousands of the weight of a car. This can be a major consideration, especially as larger cars often have longer braking distances. The braking distance and size may play an important role in better understanding the accident and its cause.
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Estimated speed
A forensic expert can recreate accident scenes to get an idea of the speed at which the involved vehicles moved before the accident. Usually, the higher the speed, the greater the impact force and the more severe the damages are.
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Tread paths and skid marks
Sudden braking at high speed can cause vehicles to leave skid marks on the road. These skid marks are an important detail that can help accident scene reconstruction experts understand what happened during the crash.
Injury lawyers can also use the information above to further buttress points and demand damages from the at-fault parties and their insurance providers.
