What Does an Accident Reconstructionist Actually Do?

When there is a car accident, you may have heard attorneys discuss hiring what are known as accident reconstructionists. But why is this kind of expert so widely used in personal injury, and especially car accident cases? What does an accident reconstructionist actually do?

When Facts are in Dispute

As you may imagine, there are many times in accidents, where we simply don’t exactly know how the accident happened.

Maybe the victim and the Defendant have different stories about how the accident happened creating a “he said she said” situation. Maybe the victim had a concussion and can’t remember the accident; or worse, is so injured that he or she is simply unable to testify as to what happened.

How the Reconstructionist Works

Enter the accident reconstructionist. Using a mix of physics, science, data, math, and mechanical engineering, the accident reconstructionist uses the information that is available, to “recreate” the accident, and to determine how the accident happened.

Of course, to recreate the accident, the expert needs data. If the witnesses can’t provide the data, or else, where witnesses differ in what they saw in the accident, the reconstructionist uses other available information.

That may include damage to the vehicles and injuries to the people in the accident; the location and severity of damage, can tell the reconstructionist a lot about what direction cars were travelling or at what speed they were travelling.

It is best if the expert can see and examine the vehicle before it is repaired, so it is always a good idea to see an attorney early, so that if the attorney does need to hire a reconstructionist, the damage to the vehicle is apparent.

Reconstructionists can also look at physical markings on the roadway. For example skid marks made by tires can tell a reconstructionist what direction a car was travelling or about what speed it was going or when someone may have or may not have applied brakes.

Even little things you may not have thought about, are things that an accident reconstructionist looks at. For example, grass or gravel that may be lodged in certain parts of the vehicle, can tell the expert what happened in the accident. Damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle can also help the expert.

These things can tell an expert whether a car door opened during the accident, or what happened to a tire before or after an accident.

Creating a Picture of the Accident

With all the data, the reconstructionist applies knowledge of physics, and can, with the help of advanced computers, create a simulation of the accident and how it happened. That simulation can be powerful testimony before a jury, and can really sway the jury to believe one side or the other’s version of how the accident happened.

Were you in a car accident where the other side disputes how the accident happened? Call our Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200 for help.

Source:

plaintiffmagazine.com/recent-issues/item/auto-accident-reconstruction-the-basics-you-must-know