The Importance of an Accident Reconstructionist in Trucking Accident Cases
Truck accidents usually last no more than a few seconds, but for victims, those few seconds can feel like a lifetime. You may spend days reliving those moments over and over, trying to figure out what happened and what went wrong. However, as someone involved in the crash, there’s only so much information you can get. In many situations, it’s necessary to bring in an expert who can reconstruct the accidents, explain the chain of events that led to them, and provide insight into injuries and property damage.
Learn more about the role of an accident reconstruction expert after a truck accident, and when you’re ready to move forward with your Pittsburgh personal injury claim, call Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman at 866-565-4949.
The Complexities of Truck Accidents
One of the main reasons you may want to bring in an expert is the sheer complexity of truck collisions. All accidents have confounding factors that leave investigators confused, but truck accidents are incredibly different from crashes solely involving smaller passenger vehicles. There are massive size disparities that completely change the physics of a crash, and trucks have different mechanisms and features that may contribute to how a collision happens.
Furthermore, there are extensive regulations that govern the truck industry, trucking companies, and truck drivers. These are often relevant to truck accident claims, especially when driver error or vehicle issues come into play.
What an Accident Reconstruction Expert Can Do
Accident reconstruction experts specialize in analyzing evidence from an accident and then piecing it together to create a full and complete timeline. They may look into evidence like accident scene photos and videos, witness statements, vehicle damage assessments, and EDR data. By combining this evidence with their extensive knowledge of physics, vehicle engineering, and accident dynamics, they can accurately determine what happened.
Accident reconstruction experts use a wide range of technology to assist them in their work. They may use computer simulations, laser scanners, forensic mapping, and specialized computer software.
How An Expert’s Input Can Affect Your Claim
Even investigators who have handled hundreds of car accident cases may be left confounded by a truck accident. These massive vehicles present their own unique challenges, particularly when it comes to stopping, visibility, turning, and changing lanes safely. Without knowledge and experience in this area, it is easy to completely misinterpret what happened—and that means that your claim is left without the information it needs, or worse, inaccurate information.
Before you have any chance at recovering compensation for your accident, you have to prove negligence and liability. That’s quite a hurdle in a trucking accident; as you may imagine, trucking companies and their insurers do not want to pay out a claim worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They will throw every obstacle they can in your path, which leads to many victims abandoning their claims completely. An accident reconstruction expert can cut through the theories and guesses posed by the trucking company and use actual evidence to figure out what happened.
If their evidence shows that the truck driver erred in a negligent way or that the truck was in a state of disrepair, that may be enough to shift the blame to the trucking company and force them to accept liability. By combining their insight with trucking logs and knowledge of FMCSA regulations, your attorney may be able to put the insurance company in an uncomfortable position. This is ideal when you begin negotiations.
Choosing the Right Accident Reconstruction Expert
Your attorney likely has an extensive network of expert witnesses they can call on when they accept a case. They will recommend hiring an expert who has specialized experience in truck accident claims, rather than one who has general knowledge in vehicle accidents. This may give their testimony more weight with the other side and strengthen your claim.
Injured in a Truck Accident? Contact Us Now
If a truck accident has derailed your life, the team at Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman is here to help. Explore your legal options now by calling us at 866-565-4949 or sending us a message online. We’ll get you set up with a free consultation where we can learn more about your accident and injuries.
