Investigation of a serious personal injury car accident begins with many questions that must be answered by police investigators and Philadelphia personal injury lawyers. Who had the right of way? How fast were the cars going? Was the vision of either driver impaired? How fast did the drivers react? And many other questions must be investigated and answered before fault and legal liability can be determined. Many people wonder how police and Philadelphia personal injury lawyers investigate and determine fault when serious personal injury car accidents occur.
Philadelphia personal injury investigators use a combination of physics, trigonometry, computer technology and eyewitness accounts to find answers to questions. Here are a few tricks of the trade shared by Philadelphia personal injury attorneys:
Who had the green light? When car accidents occur at traffic lights, it can be difficult to determine who had the green light. Investigators first insure that the traffic signal was functioning properly. If the intersection has a traffic camera, they access any video records and also check for surveillance videos on any nearby buildings. Eyewitnesses are also canvassed. Personal injury lawyers may advertise for eyewitnesses to the accident when police reports don't include such accounts.
Was either driver speeding? Using math formulas and physics principles, investigators can determine the speed of each vehicle by measuring the distances between impact points and final stopping points. Computer crash simulation software is also used to estimate vehicle speeds and trajectories. Skid marks on pavement surfaces can tell car accident investigators whether drivers applied their brakes and where braking action began. Skid marks and the distance one car pushed another can also tell investigators whether a car was accelerating at the time of an accident. Many vehicles now have crash data retrieval systems attached to their engines (like the black box in an airplane) that provide answers to questions about acceleration and braking.
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