Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Investigating An Auto Accident Case

With advances in technology, there is more and more information out there relevant to your auto case. Some of the following may help you build your case or undermine your opponent’s:

Sun Pass. Based on the tolls paid, you can find out where a vehicle was on the day it was involved in the accident.

Cell records: Was the driver on the phone at the time of the accident? Who was he talking to? After the accident, whom did he call? He may have made admissions about the accident.

Text messages and e-mails: Instead of calling someone, the driver may have been sending a text message or an e-mail. Being on the phone is distracting. Typing on your phone is so much more distracting.

Traffic reports: Reports reflecting lane closures or accidents may give an indication of the flow of traffic at the time of an auto accident. The traffic conditions may make a claim of a speeding vehicle preposterous.

Video footage: There may be footage of the accident, particularly if it happened during rush hour, where the traffic helicopter may have caught your accident on video.

Black box. Some vehicles have "black boxes" that preserve information at the time of the accident, such as the speed of the vehicle. The parties can enter into an agreement to secure the black boxes from the vehicles involved in the accident and have them analyzed by mutually agreed upon experts.

Aerial shots: An aerial shot of the accident scene may prove helpful. Google Earth is a good source for such a photograph.

GPS. Were the drivers using GPS, such as Garmin or Magellan? Were they using an online service like Onstar? There may be information about the driver’s route.

The police report is a good start when investigating a car accident case, but it is only a start. There are so many other avenues to pursue when investigating who caused the accident.

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