There are an average of six million car accidents in the United States every year. The good news is that means car accidents are pretty rare. The bad news is you still don’t know when or if you’ll be in one. When an accident happens, how do you know who was at fault? What happens if someone is injured? How reliable are your witnesses? Accident reconstruction might help in cases where details aren’t clear or someone was injured. It can mean the difference between taking the blame for an accident and being absolved of fault.
Read on to learn how the accident reconstruction process can help you after an accident.
Uses Information Already Collected
The first reason that an accident reconstruction is a good idea is that it uses evidence that’s already been collected. Information such as eyewitness accounts, photographs, and police reports are all considered to recreate the accident digitally.
Eyewitness accounts help because it gives experts an idea of what things looked like to someone not involved in the accident. Photographs perfect this by showing the damage done to the cars and the angles that they hit each other. Finally, police reports give an official record of what was said at the time of the accident.
All of these materials can create an accurate digital depiction of the events of the accident. This is extremely useful in determining who is at fault when an accident happens.
Can Shed Light on Foggy Details
Why would you need to prove who was at fault in an accident in the first place? The issue is that there are a handful of reasons why fault might not be immediately clear when an accident happens. If this is the case, then it’s important to get an accurate reconstruction for the courts.
No Witnesses
If there aren’t any witnesses, then it’s down to the parties involved to remember what happened. However, the human brain isn’t always as good at remembering these things as most people would like to believe. Witnesses can often verify important information that the involved parties can’t.
There are two types of accidents without witnesses. The first is when any witnesses left the scene before authorities could get there. The second is when there was no one else on the street.
Both scenarios make it difficult to find reliable sources with knowledge of what happened. This means that authorities can’t verify certain details to establish fault. The only evidence the involved parties have in these cases is photographs and the police report.
When that happens, it’s important to get an accurate recreation of the accident based on the photographs and police reports. This can then be examined to determine fault.
Conflicting Details
Even if there are witnesses, anyone who wasn’t in the cars involved doesn’t know what the parties involved were thinking. There could have been an attempt to avoid an accident that went badly, for example. Or they may have been mistaken about who had right of way.
This often results in conflicting details about the accident. If both parties are certain that it was their turn to cross an intersection at the same time, then how do you determine who’s at fault? You simply can’t rely on verbal reports and witness testimony for every detail.
That’s where an accident reconstruction comes in handy. It helps determine exactly who was where at the time of the accident and how the accident occurred in the first place. With any luck, this can determine if someone wasn’t where they should be or wasn’t following the speed limit.
Involved Parties Can’t Remember Events
Shock is extremely common immediately following an accident. Your brain tries to process what just happened to you, and sometimes muddles things when it does. If there are injuries, then this effect only increases.
This leads to the involved parties misremembering details. They may not even recall certain details well. An uncertain witness isn’t useful evidence in a courtroom.
If this is the case, then authorities can’t be sure of exactly what happened. They need a clear picture of the accident as it happened to establish fault. Only then can someone be issued a ticket or arrested.
The good news is that a digital accident reconstruction provides this for them. Based on the position of the cars and damage to them, they can get an idea of how the accident happened. This helps determine fault, so the right people get blamed for any damages and injuries.
Parties Require Hospitalization for Serious Injuries After An Auto Accident
Another common issue after a major accident is serious injuries. Sometimes the person isn’t physically able to respond and needs to be taken to the hospital before they can be questioned. In other cases, one party may be deceased at the scene.
It’s important to get all sides of the story when an accident occurs. If one of the involved parties is unable to give a response for a prolonged period, then authorities must use the rest of the evidence available to determine fault. Furthermore, in some cases, neither party may be responsive enough to answer questions about the accident.
Accident reconstruction experts can use photographs and other pieces of evidence to show how the cars were moving when the accident happened. This helps authorities investigating the accident scene determine why the accident happened and who is responsible for it. This can also be presented to insurance companies when making a car crash claim.
Get an Accident Reconstruction Today
The accident reconstruction process uses a lot of physical evidence gathered from the scene of the accident. It allows authorities to better see what happened to cause the accident. In other words, if the accident wasn’t your fault, then this proves it.
Even if you have this evidence, however, it’s still always a good idea to hire a car accident lawyer. Here at Rhino Lawyers, we’ll guide you through the legal process to get you the best possible outcome.
Contact us today to get the best legal advice possible.
CONTACT A TAMPA AUTO ACCIDENT ATTORNEY
In short, after a car accident, you may not know your rights. Above all, don’t struggle through the process alone. Actually, our personal injury team is here to help you with any legal needs you might have regarding your accident.
Lastly, let RHINO Lawyers answer your questions and review the facts of your case with a Free Consultation. So, get started by completing the “Free Instant Case Evaluation” or by calling us any time, day or night, at 844.RHINO.77.
