Maine Accident Reconstruction
When a vehicle accident occurs, the people involved may be unable to recall the exact events that took place, or there may be conflicting versions of what actually happened. The most common statements at the scene of an accident are: "It happened so fast!" and "Where did that other car come from?". It is essential that a specialized attorney familiar with accident reconstruction be contacted as soon as possible to help investigate the accident and build a strong case in your favor. Hardy, Wolf & Downing accident lawyers have 35 years of experience, painstakingly reconstructing accidents. Sometimes, it is necessary for them to hire an accident reconstruction expert.
What is Accident Reconstruction?
Vehicular accident reconstruction is the process of investigating, analyzing, and drawing conclusions about the causes and events during a vehicle collision. Hardy ,Wolf & Downing may hire accident reconstructionists to conduct in-depth collision analysis to identify the contributing factors in different types of collisions, including the role of the driver(s), vehicle(s), roadway, traffic, lighting and the environment. It is essential, if not mandatory, that accident reconstruction be done in cases where death and/or personal injury are involved if evidence is missing or incomplete.
How is the Accident Reconstructed?
In order for the personal injury attorneys at Hardy, Wolf & Downing to determine how and why an accident happened, we must first correctly interpret the clues left by the remaining physical evidence of the collision, then reconstruct and study the events preceding, during, and following the accident.
Investigation
There are multiple steps that are done during the investigation phase of accident reconstruction. Listed below are several of the key components that the experts at Hardy, Wolf & Downing utilize in order to correctly interpret an accident scene:
- Visit the scene of the accident and examine all vehicles involved in the collision.
- Inspect and photograph any other objects involved in the collision. For example, bicycles, animals, trees, buildings or poles.
- Collect visual evidence such as scene photographs and traffic videos of the collision.
- Review all victim, eye witness and police reports.
- Examine physical evidence such as gauge and tire marks.
- The length of a skid mark can often indicate the original speed of vehicle. We are often able to pinpoint speed to within a couple MPH's of the actual speed.
- Tire marks also provide information about whether the drivers involved in the collision reacted to danger or were unaware of the impending crash.
- Review environmental conditions at the time of the accident.
- Inspect the road surface, especially when traction has been lost due to snow, black ice, diesel fuel, or obstacles such as road debris.
- Inspect positioning of road signs and/or signals and identify possible visibility issues.
- Investigate any unaddressed safety recalls that may have contributed to the crash and examine the vehicles' headlights, brake lights, and other safety equipment to determine whether they were working properly at the time of the collision.
Analysis and Interpretation of Data
Once all the evidence as been collected, the accident reconstruction experts employed by Hardy, Wolf & Downing can create a second-by-second analysis of the accident by evaluating possible hypotheses, creating models, recreating accidents, and utilizing software simulations.
- Summarize points of impact. vehicle movements, including speed estimates and vehicle points of rest.
- Hardy, Wolf & Downing accident attorneys have found that vehicle speed is frequently under-estimated by a driver, so an independent estimate of speed is often essential in personal injury accidents where evidence of speed is incomplete or contested.
- Use laws of physics and occupant kinematics to explain occupant movement or ejections.
- Identify driver errors that influenced the accident such as excessive speed or failure to yield the right of way.
- Utilize diagrams with aerial photo overlay and/or 3-D animation of the accident to create a collision simulation.
Why use Accident Reconstruction?
By utilizing accident reconstruction tools, the personal injury lawyers at Hardy, Wolf & Downing are able to clearly and effectively present your side of the events in negotiations and in the courtroom, helping you achieve the best settlement possible for your case. Through accident reconstruction we able to help you obtain greater compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages related to your personal injury.
Whether it be a car, motorcycle, truck or bicycle, Hardy Wolf & Downing Maine accident lawyers will help you uncover the truth of what happened and bring those responsible to justice either by their own investigative process or, if warranted, accident reconstruction.
Contact our Maine personal injury lawyers today to schedule a consultation.
