As we all know, motorcycle accidents can lead to serious injuries to the cyclist and passenger. Many such injuries will lead to short- to long-term disability and, tragically, even death. It is often necessary to file a lawsuit to ensure the accident victim and his or her family will be compensated for their losses. In today’s post, the motorcycle accident lawyer at the Doan Law Firm will explain how a motorcycle accident reconstruction specialist can strengthen an accident victim’s personal injury case and possibly lead to a higher damages award.
According to Veritech, a leading motorcycle accident investigation and consulting firm, motorcycle accidents can be seen as occurring in five “phases.”
- Perception & Reaction: In this stage, the cyclist first notices a hazard and then initiates an action to avoid that hazard. This happens very quickly, and has been estimated to take between 1.5 to 2 seconds.
- Avoidance: Once the cyclist reacts, he or she may apply the motorcycle’s brakes (front, rear, or both) and/or attempt to steer around the hazard.
- Pre-impact sliding: The sudden application of the motorcycle’s brakes is often uneven and may cause the cyclist to lose directional control of the motorcycle. In some cases, the cyclist will “lay it down” in a deliberate slide in an attempt to avoid a collision. An accident reconstruction specialist can use the skid-mark patterns left on the road’s pavement to estimate the motorcycle's speed and direction of travel immediately prior to the accident.
- Impact
- Post-impact motion: Upon impact, it is common for the cyclist (and parts of the motorcycle) to become separated from the bike. Once this occurs, each object will come to rest at separate locations. An accident reconstruction specialist can use these locations to determine and estimate the speed and direction of the motorcycle at impact.
A motorcycle accident reconstruction expert will use police accident reports, the victim’s medical record, and statements from witnesses to “recreate” the accident to determine the most likely sequence of events leading to the accident and the accident itself. The specialist will then submit his or her report to the personal injury lawyer who requested the analysis.
Why We Use Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction Experts
Many people consider accident reconstruction experts to be an unnecessary expense in a motorcycle accident personal injury lawsuit. To the contrary, a trained motorcycle accident reconstruction specialist will often analyze the available evidence and arrive at an opinion that is contrary to that of the police or insurance adjusters. Although there are many reasons as to why these disagreements may occur, here are some of the more common factors.
When any motor vehicle accident occurs on a public street or highway, it is the responsibility of law enforcement to investigate the accident scene and make a report of that investigation available to all parties that were involved in the accident. Unfortunately, most police officers have had only the barest minimum of accident investigation training and often overlook evidence that is later uncovered by other investigators. An accident reconstruction specialist may discover evidence that can be used to challenge a police report as being incomplete or improperly conducted.
Another factor to consider is that many accidents happen at night, and often the available official is often inadequate for conducting a thorough investigation of an accident scene. In the vast majority of cases, once the accident scene has been “cleared," the road is then reopened to traffic. Once this occurs, there is little chance that additional physical evidence will be discovered. A reconstruction analysis may be able to challenge the results of such investigations on the grounds that the investigation was inadequate due to poor lighting conditions or was influenced by a perceived need to reopen the roadway as soon as possible.
It is also a well-known, and well-established, scientific fact that “eyewitnesses” are not reliable sources of information regarding how an accident happened. In fact, accident reconstruction will often prove that the account given by an eyewitness is wrong simply because the physical evidence proves that an accident could not have happened as the witness claims it did.
The Motorcycle Accident Lawyer at The Doan Law Firm Will Work for You
At the Doan Law Firm, we have represented many motorcycle accident victims, and we are ready to place that experience at your disposal should you ask us to manage your motorcycle accident injury case.
We know that an accident victim and their family will be undergoing a time of distress. For this reason, when you contact the accident attorney at the Doan Law Firm your first consultation is always free and does not obligate you to use our firm to manage your case. Should you ask us to represent you, we are willing to assume responsibility for all necessary expenses in the preparation of your case in exchange for a percentage of the settlement that we will win or negotiate for you.
The Doan Law Firm 1 Riverway, Suite 2500 Houston, TX 77056, (832) 835-0000, (800) 349-0000