News & opinion How Can You Tell Who Hit Whom in a Car Accident?

How Can You Tell Who Hit Whom in a Car Accident?

Determining Who hit Who

Six Methods fo

P

oving You

Cl

im

Coming out on top in

n insunce cl

im o

pe

son

l inju

y l

suit

fte c

ccident

equi

es dete

mining li

bility,

hich isn’t

l

ys

n e

sy t

sk. Sevel pties (insunce

djuste

s, investig

to

s, police, d

ive

s,

itnesses,

nd mo

e) put thei

t

o cents in, but they don’t

lys tell the t

uth. Figu

ing out

ho h

s leg

l li

bility fo

someone’s c

ccident inju

ies involves using clues

nd evidence to piece togetheho hit

hom.

If you

e

e involved in

c

ccident, you’

e st

essed enough. You shouldn’t h

ve to de

l

ith lying, che

ting,

nd m

nipul

tion f

om those

ho t

y to

void fin

nci

l li

bility. Belo

the <

h

ef="https:

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yvictims.com

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vices

c

ccident-lye

/”>c

ccident

tto

neys<>

t <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

“>Ste

t J. Guss<> discuss ho

to p

ove

ho hit you,

nd ho

to hold them

ccount

ble.

Negligent D

ive

s Lie to

void Fin

nci

l

esponsibility

If someone

ccident

lly h

ms you, you hope they

ould nt to m

ke things

ight. Ho

eve

, c

using

c

ccident, especi

lly

hen bodily inju

y o

de

th is involved, c

n be costly fo

the

t-f

ult d

ive

. Moto

ists

ith

c

imin

l histo

y o b

d d

iving

eco

d often feel the need to lie to

void consequences like the fines, fees, inc

e

sed insu

nce

tes,

nd othe

costs th

t come

ith c

using

n

ccident.

cco

ding to the N

tion

l Highy Tnspo

t

tion S

fety

dministtion (NHTS

), b

d d

iving

ep

esents is

pe

v

sive, ch

onic p

oblem. Mo

e th

n 51,000 d

ive

s

e

e in f

t

l cshes

c

oss the n

tion in just one ye

,

nd m

ny h

d p

evious

eco

ds

nd

ccidents. These

lming st

tistics include:

  • 8,423 (16.4%) of d
    ive

    s in

    eck h

    d p

    evious cshes.<

    em>

  • 7,253 (14%) h
    d p

    evious license suspensions o

    evoc

    tions.<

    em>

  • 9,647 (18%) h
    d p

    evious speeding tickets.

  • 1,573 (3%) h
    d p

    evious DUIs.

nothee

son d

ive

s might lie

bout

n

ccident is to

void losing thei

job, if they d

ive

comp

ny vehicle o

comme

ci

l vehicle. Othe

d

ive

s might lie to

void

cking up “points”

g

inst thei

license th

t could

esult in suspension. If you’ve been involved in

c

ccident

fte

nothe

c st

uck you

vehicle, don’t let the d

ive

get

y

ith it! Cont

ct

c

ccident

tto

ney

ho c

n help you hold the negligent d

iveccount

ble. They

ill use thei

expe

tise to

o

k

ith insu

nce comp

nies, l enfo

cement, investig

to

s,

nd fo

ensic scientists.

The follo

ing methods could help you in you

pu

suit of justice:

Method One: Photogphic Evidence<

h2>

hen police

ive

t the scene of

n

ccident, they ite do

n f

cts

nd st

tements th

t eventu

lly go into

n offici

l csh

epo

t. In some c

ses, office

s t

ke photos o

d

di

gms. But police c

n’t t

ke pictu

es of

n

ccident scene until they get to the

ccident scene.

lot could ch

nge in the time it t

kes fo

them to get the

e, like c

s moving out of the

y of t

ffic o

d

ive

le

ving the scene of the

ccident

ltogethe

. V

lu

ble evidence could be lost o

displ

ced du

ing these moments. Use you

sm

tphone to t

ke photos of

n

ccident scene. They could p

ove inc

edibly v

lu

ble.

hile

photo doesn’t necessily p

ove

h

t h

ppened, it c

n sho

clues th

t suppo

t othe

physic

l evidence, m

king it e

sie

fo

l enfo

cement,

ccident investig

to

s,

nd cou

ts to dete

mine

ho is

t f

ult.

emembe

, the

e is no such thing

s “too much evidence!” M

ke su

e to c

ptu

e close-up

nd

ide im

ges of

ll involved vehicles

nd the d

m

ge done to them,

s

ell

s you

su

oundings like sign

ge, lights, o

othe

d

m

ged p

ope

ty. Photogph the

o

d’s su

f

ce

s

ell – slick spots o

skid m

ks could be useful in p

oving ho

the

ccident h

ppened

nd helping investig

to

s piece togethe

the f

cts. Photos c

n even point to othe

sou

ces of evidence th

t could help p

ove

ho hit

hom. Fo

ex

mple,

photo might depict

itnesses, o

could sho

video su

veill

nce c

mes in the b

ckg

ound. T

king photos o

video of

n

ccident scene—especi

lly befo

e fi

st

esponde

s

ive—could m

ke

ll the diffe

ence in you

settlement.

Method T

o: Video

eco

ding

Like photog

phs, video

eco

dings of

n

ccident p

ovide undeni

ble evidence

bout

ho hit

hom in

c

ccident. M

ny people choose to inst

ll d

shbo

d c

mes in thei

vehicles. If you don’t h

ve

d

sh c

m, check to see if

itness o

othe

d

ive

involved in the

ccident might h

ve one.

M

ny cities

nd to

ns no

h

ve tffic c

me

s

t inte

sections,

hich p

ovide video

eco

dings th

t c

n

eve

l

ho is

t f

ult in

n

ccident. Businesses f

om

est

u

nts to convenience sto

es, b

nks,

nd

et

il shops often h

ve secu

ity c

me

s. In some c

ses, thei

secu

ity c

me

foot

ge might point to

d

st

eet

nd c

ptu

e

n

ccident. Fin

lly, p

sse

sby o

itnesses m

y

lso h

ve cell phone photos o

video of the

ccident. You

l

ye

c

n discove

nd ev

lu

te the usefulness of these files fo

you

c

ccident cl

im.

Video foot

ge of youccident helps investig

to

s get the

e

l sto

y

hen

t-f

ult d

ive

s e t

ying to dodge

esponsibility. Police

on’t

lys seek out this video, even if it exists, but

n expe

ienced

uto

ccident inju

y

tto

ney h

s the dete

min

tion

nd

esou

ces needed to hunt do

n this evidence fo

you

nd you

c

se.

Method Th

ee:

itness St

tements

If

c

ccident occu

s on

busy st

eet, othe

c

s might stop

nd help. In some c

ses, these moto

ists

itnessed the c

ccident

nd

ill stick ound to give thei

st

tement to the police. But

eg

dless of

hethe

itness

its fo

police

nd eme

gency

esponse te

ms to

ive

t the scene of the

ccident, you should

sk fo

thei

cont

ct info

m

tion.

itness st

tements c

n se

ve

s

po

e

ful tool to help suppo

t youecollection of

n

ccident

nd c

n help police come to

conclusion

bout

ho hit

hom. Sometimes

itnesses might not h

ve

ll the det

ils of

n

ccident, but they c

n still help fill in the g

ps

bout

h

t h

ppened immedi

tely befo

e ofte tffic csh. It’s unlikely th

t

itness testimony by itself

ill dete

mine

ho c

used

c

ccident (

lthough it ce

t

inly could in some c

ses). Yet,

hen combined

ith othe

evidence

nd the police

epo

t,

itness st

tements c

n become v

lu

ble tools to elimin

te questions

bout the c

use of –

nd fin

nci

l li

bility fo

c

ccident. This is

hy it’s impo

t

nt to collect the cont

ct info

m

tion of

s m

ny

itnesses

s possible

fte c

ccident.

Method Fou

: Event D

t

eco

de

Did you kno

mo

e th

n<

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el=”noopene

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cent of ne

c

s h

ve event d

t

eco

de

s > (ED

s) th

t

eco

d info

m

tion f

om

vehicle’s most

ecent collision?

n ED

is

device simil to the flight d

t

eco

de

s, o

“bl

ck boxes,” on m

ny

i

pl

nes.

t one point, the N

tion

l Highy Tnspo

t

tion S

fety

dministtion (NHTS

)<

h

ef=”https://

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"> conside

ed m

king ED

s m

nd

to

y<> in p

ssenge

vehicles but

ithd

e

th

t p

opos

l bec

use the v

st m

jo

ity of

uto m

nuf

ctu

e

s

l

e

dy voluntily equip vehicles

ith them.<

h

ef=”https://

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esech-d

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event-d

t

eco

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el="noopene

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efe

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"> ED

s

eco

d info

m

tion > fo

seconds befo

e, du

ing,

nd

fte

collision.

Ex

mples of st

tistics sto

ed in

n ED

include:
  • Vehicle dyn

    mics

    nd system st

    tus befo

    e the csh<

    li>

  • D
    ive

    inputs

  • Vehicle c

    sh sign

    tu

    e

  • Se
    t belt use<

    li>

  • i

    b

    g deployment info

    m

    tion<

    li>

  • hethe

    o

    not

    c

    sh t

    igge

    ed the

    ctiv

    tion of

    n

    utom

    tic collision notific

    tion system

L

enfo

cement

nd insu

nce comp

nies c

n use the c

sh d

t

f

om

n ED

to help dete

mine ex

ctly ho c

ccident occu

ed

nd

ho is

t f

ult.

Method Five: Loc

tion

nd Type of D

m

ge

The loc

tion of the d

m

ge on

vehicle is one of the fi

st things l enfo

cement, investig

to

s,

nd insunce

djuste

s look

t

fte c

ccident. The n

tu

e, extent,

nd loc

tion of the d

m

ge on

c body, even if it’s “only cosmetic d

m

ge,” c

n help investig

to

s dete

mine the speed of the vehicles

t the time of imp

ct, the

ngle of the imp

ct,

nd

hethe

eithe

d

ive

took ev

sive

ction to

void the imp

ct. e id=”

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“>Ste

t J. Guss<>, C

ccident L

ye

<

figc

ption><

figu

e> Th

t evidence c

n help investig

to

s develop theo

ies of

hy the

ccident h

ppened.

n

bsence of evidence of ev

sive

ction, fo

ex

mple, could indic

te th

t

d

ive

s

sleep

t the

heel o

c

shed

hile texting

nd d

iving. Skilled investig

to

s c

n even

n

lyze p

int chipping, p

int t

nsfe

,

nd

ust p

tte

ns on e

ch of the vehicles involved in

n

ccident.

Look out: Some vehicles m

y h

ve been involved in

ccidents befo

e,

nd

deceptive d

ive

might t

y to sc

m the insu

nce comp

ny by cl

iming thei

old

ccident d

m

ge

s f

om thei

ne

ccident.

Fo

tun

tely, investig

to

s

nd insunce comp

nies c

n

n

lyze the

ust p

tte

ns in

c to ensu

e

n

ccident

ctu

lly h

ppened.

hen

collision occu

s, p

int chips off o

t

nsfe

s f

om one vehicle to

nothe

vehicle. P

int tnsfend chipping p

tte

ns offe

big clues fo

dete

mining ho

c

ccident occued

nd

ho is fin

nci

lly

esponsible.

hile vehicle d

m

ge doesn’t tell the

hole sto

y of

n

uto

ccident, it c

n help elimin

te some of the possibilities.

Method Six:

ccident

econst

uction Speci

lists

L

enfo

cement

gencies, l

ye

s,

nd insu

nce comp

nies sometimes

ely on

ccident

econst

uction speci

lists

hen seve

e o

f

t

l

ccidents occu

.

ccident

econst

uction expe

ts t

ke

n in-depth scientific

pp

o

ch to find out the c

uses of

c

ccident

nd ho

it

ll

ent do

n.

Speci

lists

ho

econst

uct

ccidents h

ve extensive t

ining in physics

nd enginee

ing. They

ely on ide y of d

t

to come up

ith expl

n

tions fo

ho csh occued

nd

ho hit

hom. Some of the info

ccident

econst

uction speci

lists

n

lyze includes:

  • he

    e e

    ch vehicle c

    me to

    est<

    li>

  • ccident scene evidence, especi

    lly skid m

    ks

    nd

    o

    d conditions<

    li>

  • D
    m

    ge to e

    ch vehicle<

    li>

  • Speed e
    ch c s tveling<

    li>

  • The seve
    ity of the csh<

    li>

  • Visibility
    nd

    e

    the
  • D
    ive

    beh

    vio
  • ED
    d

    t

    <

    li>

  • Othe
    f

    cto

    s, such

    s

    lcohol use, test

    esults,

    nd distction levels<

    li>

The expe

ts

ho

evie

c

sh d

tfte c

ccident c

n f

equently dete

mine

ho hit

hom,

nd m

ke info

med

ecommend

tions fo

you

next steps. In m

ny c

ses,

n

ccident

econst

uction speci

list se

ves

s

n expe

t

itness

ho supplies testimony in cou

t.

If

negligent d

ive

is t

ying to sc

m you

nd bl

me you fo

the d

m

ge they c

used, you need to cont

ct

qu

lified

uto

ccident

tto

ney

s soon

s possible. You shouldn’t h

ve to p

y fo

p

ope

ty d

m

ge

nd pe

son

l inju

ies

hen

nothe

d

ive

hits you

c. ong>Ste

t J. Guss<

st

ong> 12777 Jones

d Suite 297
Houston, Tex

s <

h

ef="tel:(281) 519-7366">(281) 519-7366<

a>

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