High-stakes injury claims are typically the result of life-altering accidents that leave victims with serious ongoing healthcare needs. Unfortunately, high-stakes claims are among the most challenging when it comes to recovering full compensation. Since insurance companies can lose hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on a single serious claim, they will fight tooth and nail to refuse making a large payout. Accident reconstruction is one way to show how and why a crash happened, as well as who was at fault, making it one of the most powerful weapons against greedy insurers. After a serious accident, a New York car accident attorney can also provide access to experts such as reconstructionists who can testify on your behalf. I’ll tell you how accident reconstruction is used in these cases and when an attorney could be in your best interest. If you have questions about your case, Buttafuoco & Associates offers free consultations at 1-800-NOW-HURT.
What is Accident Reconstruction?
Accident reconstruction is conducted by experts to determine how and why a crash or other accident happened. An accident reconstructionist looks at evidence from the scene such as skid marks, damage to vehicles, weather and road conditions, black box data from trucks, and more to recreate the series of events that resulted in collision.
Accident reconstruction can help prove to resistant or dishonest insurance companies what actually happened and who was at fault. Insurance companies often try to place blame for a costly accident on the victim to avoid paying, but accident reconstruction can protect you from these tactics. Even when injuries qualify as serious under New York law and victims file a lawsuit against the responsible driver, insurance companies will try to dispute their liability. Accident reconstruction can prevent them from succeeding in these efforts.
When combined with medical records and evidence, accident reconstruction can show exactly how the accident caused the victim’s injuries, and prove that the injuries were caused by the crash, not something else. Reconstructions can prove how fast each vehicle was traveling and in what direction, how long they took to stop, and provide other key information to show that the other driver acted recklessly.
Reconstruction can also be useful when other evidence is lacking or contradictory. Witness reports are not always clear, consistent, or available, and victims’ memories can fail in the face of the shock of a serious accident. Having physical evidence and a chain of reconstructed events to corroborate witness reports can tell a fuller and more accurate story, making this type of report invaluable in court.
When is Accident Reconstruction Helpful?
After some crashes, both parties agree on what happened, the victim’s injuries qualify as serious under New York Law, the evidence is clear, and insurance companies make an effort to behave justly.
But not all accidents are this straightforward or easily resolved. In cases where a victim is severely injured but the accident itself does not seem so serious at first glance, reconstruction can be essential. For example, let’s say that after a crash, there was only minor vehicle damage, but the victim is claiming they suffered a serious traumatic brain injury. An insurance company might argue that the vehicle damage does not support the victim’s claims. However, accident reconstruction can show that even though there was not significant vehicle damage, the forces at work in a high speed accident were intense enough to cause the victim’s head to hit the dashboard with extreme force.
Accident reconstruction is essential when an accident case involves:
- An insurance company or the other driver that denies liability for a serious accident
- Serious or life-changing injuries that the insurance company is refusing to acknowledge
- Complex, multi-vehicle crashes where fault is challenging to establish
- Crashes with fast-moving, heavy commercial vehicles
- High speed travel
- More than one driver at fault, in which case a reconstruction expert can determine the percentage of fault for each driver, and ensure that liability is properly distributed under New York comparative negligence law
- Conflicting witness accounts
- Mechanical issues with the vehicle. (Reconstruction experts can identify parts defects, improperly maintained vehicles)
- Road conditions were dangerous but not obviously so
In some cases, police reports are not as accurate as they should be. Police rely on minimal information that exists at the scene, and witnesses and statements from victims who are injured or in shock and are therefore not thinking or communicating clearly. Their report may miss key details that are essential to showing what actually happened.
If you believe a police report is incorrect after suffering a serious accident, working with a New York car accident attorney with access to accident reconstruction experts can make a huge difference in the outcome. In the case of an incorrect police report, a good attorney will call on a reconstruction expert to show that the police officer misinterpreted things like skid marks, took incorrect witness statements as truth, or miscalculated the speed or impact of an accident. This will also be incredibly important if an insurance company is refusing liability, or if your case goes to court. Juries are far more likely to be persuaded by expert testimony that explains the evidence than by a simple police report.
When to Contact an Attorney
If you have suffered serious injuries in an accident, working with a New York car accident attorney serving New York can make the difference between getting the compensation you are entitled to and being unable to fully recover from your injuries. At Buttafuoco & Associates, it is our mission to fight for victims’ rights when greedy insurance companies try to take advantage.
Get in touch today for a free consultation at 1-800-NOW-HURT.
