The Importance of an Accident Reconstruction Specialist for Your Case

Your memories of your car accident are probably crystal clear in your mind—but that doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily true. While eyewitness testimony can be fairly accurate, your brain also fills in the gaps when it is unsure about what happened. This means that you may need more conclusive proof of your accident to seek compensation.

Luckily, there are numerous specialists that can provide insight into your accident, injuries, and losses. With the assistance of an accident reconstruction specialist, you may be able to get clear proof of what happened that day. Learn more about this and other ways we can help you now—call Haygood, Cleveland, Pierce, Thompson & Short at 334-560-1936.

Scientific Analysis of the Crash

A crash happens in seconds, which makes it impossible for you to take in everything that’s happening. A thorough crash analysis can go back, look at the evidence, and piece together what happened. Accident reconstruction specialists are trained in collecting and analyzing various pieces of evidence from car crash sites, which allows them to figure out precisely what happened.

For example, they may use the direction and size of skid marks to determine what evasive action a driver took and how fast they were traveling. They may be able to look at the damage to each vehicle and decipher who made contact first and who attempted to avoid the crash.

Their analysis may also provide additional information about your injuries. If they can determine the points of impact and how those collisions would have affected the occupants of the vehicle, this may further prove the extent and severity of your injuries.

Proving and Disproving the Drivers’ Stories

Remember, the insurance companies will also have your retelling and the other driver’s retelling of the accident. The information provided by the accident reconstruction specialist will likely prove and disprove aspects of both stories.

This is especially important if the other driver took liberties with the truth when telling the police or their insurance company what happened. Proving that they lied in order to avoid liability may strengthen your claim and the statements you provided.

Determining Liability

When your attorney gets the specialist’s reports back, they can use them to figure out liability. They combine this with other pieces of evidence available to them, such as road diagrams, statements from both drivers, eyewitness statements, and photographs of the scene. From there, they will determine who is responsible for the accident and the expenses you’ve accumulated. This may be the other driver, the manufacturer of either vehicle, the municipality that maintains the roads, or another third party.

How a Specialist’s Report Can Help During Negotiations or in Court

Once your car accident attorney has determined liability, they can use that to demand fair and full compensation from the other driver. Most car accident cases are resolved outside of court, so it’s likely that yours will go this route.

The attorney will provide the specialist’s report and their own interpretations to the other party’s insurance company and attorney. They’ll then make a case explaining why they should offer you a fair settlement right away, rather than forcing you to take them to court. In many situations, a strong case backed up by multiple pieces of evidence will put the insurance company in a position where they must offer you what you deserve.

If the insurance company will not offer a fair settlement during negotiations, the accident reconstruction report will still be useful in your court case. This type of expert analysis insight can be very effective at convincing a jury of the other party’s liability and your right to receive compensation.

Please note, though, that an accident reconstruction specialist is not required for every case. Some accidents are open-and-shut cases, where it’s obvious what happened and who’s at fault. When that happens, your attorney may not want you to incur the extra expense of an accident reconstruction specialist.

Contact Haygood, Cleveland, Pierce, Thompson & Short Now to Start Your Claim

Looking for help with your car accident claim? It’s time to talk to the team at Haygood, Cleveland, Pierce, Thompson & Short. Call us at 334-560-1936 or reach out online to set up a consultation.