What Does a Car Crash Reconstruction Show?

As an attorney, you understand all too well that explaining how a car crash occurred, leading to your client’s personal injury or a person’s wrongful death, is seldom easy. You need to clearly show how causation and liability played a role in the accident. Fortunately, a reconstruction of the accident can help in these situations.

What does a car crash reconstruction show? By combining scientific methods, advanced technology, and evidence, crash reconstruction experts can provide additional insights into the events leading up to, during, and after a collision.

Let’s see how a car collision reconstruction can be invaluable for your client’s case.

Setting Up the Sequence of Events

When presenting your case, you need to establish the course of events leading to the accident. This can help to show the defendant’s actions or behavior directly led to the crash. A car accident reconstruction can prove:

• The actions each driver did or failed to take before the collision, such as speeding, braking, or swerving.
• The moment of impact, including the exact collision point and the vehicle interaction.
• The trajectory of the vehicles after the crash, such as where they came to rest and the debris field left behind.

Another factor that can show how the crash occurs is the point of impact. Evidence like skid marks, gouge marks, and vehicle damage pinpoint where the vehicles first collided. This visual evidence can often help in cases involving disputes over which driver was at fault. This reconstruction can clearly indicate whether the other driver acted negligently, or the accident was unavoidable.

Showing Vehicle Speeds

Unfortunately, speed is a factor in many cases. And when someone uses excessive speed, it can prove that they acted negligently on the road. A car crash reconstruction can show the estimated speed of each vehicle at points before and during the collision. Experts use physical evidence, such as:

• The length and depth of skid marks
• Crush analysis to measure the extent of damage
• Data from event data recorders that recorded pre-crash speeds and braking activity

Once again, this information can be invaluable as it can determine whether speeding contributed to the accident or if a driver failed to react appropriately to hazards.

Outlining Driver Behavior

Liability is tied to driver behavior. If it was not for the other driver’s actions, then an accident may not have occurred. With a car collision reconstruction, you can show the judge or jury specific factors that may have led to the accident, such as:

• The time it took a driver to perceive and respond to a potential hazard
• Whether a driver attempted to brake, swerve, or take other measures to avoid the collision
• Whether drivers adhered to speed limits, stopped at red lights, or yielded the right of way

These behavioral analyses play a major role in determining negligence or recklessness, especially in cases involving allegations of distracted or impaired driving.

Focusing on Environmental and Road Conditions

A car crash reconstruction does not only focus on the vehicles and drivers. Environmental factors and road conditions can also play a big part in the crash. These factors can include:

• Weather conditions
• Road design
• Lighting

These facts can be valuable, especially when your client’s accident may have been the fault of a government entity that failed to maintain these roads.

Assessing the Conditions of the Vehicles

Sometimes, maintenance issues or faulty parts can lead to accidents. Car accident reconstructionists will look at any mechanical failures that may have resulted in the collision.

Identifying these problems can prove whether liability lies with the driver, a vehicle manufacturer, or a maintenance provider.

Analyzing Injury Mechanisms

The nature and severity of injuries suffered in a crash often align with the trajectory of the collision. Mechanisms of injury in accidents are usually classified as blunt or penetrating, per a Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services study. The more information you know about the injury, the better you can make those ties to liability. Crash reconstructions establish a link between the accident and the injuries by examining:

• The force and direction of impact
• The effectiveness of safety features like seat belts and airbags
• Occupant positions within the vehicle

When talking about damages, especially in personal injury claims, you need this information to convey to the jury. Reconstruction can either support or challenge how and why injuries occurred.

Car crash reconstruction is a powerful tool that sheds light on these motor vehicle accidents.

Along with that, it can clarify your case, whether used in personal injury lawsuits, insurance claims, or criminal investigations. These presentations can deliver objectivity and help to establish fault for your client’s claim.

If you are looking for a professional team specializing in creating these types of car accident reconstructions, reach out to Advocacy Digital Media. Whether you need to show the impact of a crash on your client’s life or need to prove negligence on behalf of a vehicle maintenance provider, we can help.