Determine Who Caused a Car Accident in Colorado Springs

Written by Jeremy D. Earle, JD

April 14, 2023

SIX WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM

After a car accident, identifying guilt, which isn’t always a straightforward issue, is critical to prevailing in an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit. Insurance adjusters, investigators, police, drivers, witnesses, and others contribute their two cents, but they don’t necessarily tell the truth. Finding out who is legally responsible for someone’s car accident injuries requires putting together clues and facts to figure out who struck whom.

You’re already anxious if you’ve been in a car accident. You shouldn’t have to deal with those who attempt to evade financial responsibility by lying, cheating, and manipulating you. Warrior’s car accident lawyers explain how to show who struck you and hold them responsible in the video below.

NEGLIGENT DRIVERS LIE TO AVOID FINANCIAL REPERCUSSIONS.

You hope that if someone inadvertently affects you, they want to set things right. However, causing a car collision may be expensive for the at-fault motorist, particularly when physical injury or death. Drivers with a criminal background or a poor driving record may feel compelled to lie to escape the penalties, fees, higher insurance rates, and other expenses associated with causing an accident.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), bad driving is a prevalent, persistent issue. In only one year, almost 51,000 drivers were killed in deadly wrecks throughout the country, with many having prior records and accidents. The following are some of the worrisome statistics:

  • A total of 8,423 (16.4 percent) of drivers involved in a collision had previously been in an
  • 7,253 (14%) had previously had their licenses suspended or
  • 9,647 people (18%) had received a speeding ticket in the
  • 1,573 (3%) had been convicted of a DUI in the

Another reason drivers may lie about an accident is to keep their work if they operate a business or commercial car. Other drivers may lie to avoid accumulating “points” on their license, leading to suspension.

 

If you’ve been in a car accident because another car collided with yours, don’t let the driver off the hook! Make contact with a car accident lawyer who can assist you in holding the at- fault motorist responsible. They will collaborate with insurance firms, law enforcement, detectives, and forensic scientists to use their knowledge.

THE STRATEGIES LISTED BELOW MAY AID YOU IN YOUR QUEST FOR JUSTICE:

THE FIRST METHOD IS TO USE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE.

When the police arrive at an accident site, they take notes on the facts and comments that will later be entered into an official crash report. Officers may take photographs or create diagrams in certain circumstances. However, police officers cannot photograph an accident scene until they get on the site. When it takes them to arrive, a lot might happen, such as cars moving out of the line of traffic or a motorist fleeing the site of the collision. During these times, valuable evidence may be lost or moved.

Take images of an accident scene using your smartphone. They might be quite beneficial. While a photograph cannot always prove what occurred, it may provide hints that corroborate other physical evidence, making it simpler for law police, accident investigators, and courts to decide who is to blame. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as “too much proof!”

Take close-up and wide shots of all involved cars and the damage they’ve sustained, as well as your surroundings, such as signs, lights, and other damaged property. Slick areas or skid marks on the road’s surface may be significant in showing how the accident occurred and aiding investigators in piecing together the facts.

Photos may also lead to other evidence that can be used to show who struck who. A photograph might, for example, feature witnesses or reveal video surveillance cameras in the backdrop.

Taking photographs or video of an accident scene might make or break your compensation, particularly before first responders arrive.

VIDEO RECORDING IS THE SECOND METHOD.

Video recordings of an accident, like pictures, give irrefutable proof of who struck whom in an car accident. Many individuals choose to have dashboard cameras installed in their cars. Whether you don’t have a dashcam, ask if a witness or another motorist involved in the collision does.

Many cities and towns now have traffic cameras installed at junctions, which capture footage that may be used to determine who is to blame in an accident.

Security cameras are often seen in restaurants, convenience stores, banks, and retail establishments. Their security camera video may, in certain situations, aim toward a roadway and record an accident.

 

Finally, bystanders or witnesses may have taken images or videos of the accident on their mobile phones. Your lawyer may investigate and assess the value of these documents in your car accident case.

When at-fault drivers attempt to avoid accountability, investigators may use video evidence of your collision to discover the entire story. Even if this footage exists, police will not always seek it out. Still, an experienced car accident injury attorney has the motivation and resources to get it for you and your case.

WITNESS STATEMENTS ARE THE THIRD METHOD.

Other cars may stop and assist if a car accident happens on a crowded roadway. These motorists may have observed the car collision and will remain to testify to the authorities. Whether a witness waits for police and emergency responders to arrive at the accident site, you should still ask for their contact information.

Witness testimonies may be a useful tool in proving your recall of an accident and assisting authorities in determining who struck whom. Even if witnesses may not know all of the specifics of an accident, they can nevertheless assist in filling in the blanks concerning what transpired shortly before or after the collision.

Witness evidence is unlikely to identify who caused an car collision on its own (although it certainly could in some cases). When supplemented with additional evidence and the police report, witness accounts may become useful instruments for determining the cause of – and financial culpability for – an car accident. This is why, following a car accident, it’s critical to get the contact information of as many witnesses as possible.

EVENT DATA RECORDER IS THE FOURTH METHOD.

Did you know that event data recorders (EDRs), which capture information from a car’s most recent accident, are found in more than 90% of new cars? An EDR is a device that works similarly to the flight data recorders, or “black boxes,” found on many aircraft.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) explored making EDRs obligatory in passenger cars at one time but dropped the idea since the great majority of automakers already do so voluntarily. Before, during, and after a collision, EDRs capture data for seconds.

The following are some examples of statistics kept in an EDR:

  • Before the collision, the car’s dynamics and system condition
  • Inputs from the driver
  • Signature of a car collision
  • Use of a seatbelt

 

  • Information about airbag deployment
  • Whether or not a collision prompted the automated collision notification system to go

Law enforcement and insurance companies may use the crash data from an EDR to figure out how an car accident happened and who is to blame.

METHOD #5: DAMAGE LOCATION AND TYPE

One of the first things police enforcement, detectives, and insurance adjusters look at following a car accident is the location of the damage on the car. Even if the damage to a car’s body is “just cosmetic,” the kind, degree, and position of the damage may aid investigators in determining the speed of the cars at the moment of contact, the angle of impact, and if either driver made evasive measures to avoid the collision.

This evidence may aid investigators in developing ideas about what caused the disaster. For example, the lack of evidence of evasive action might imply that a motorist was sleeping at the wheel or crashed while texting and driving.

Paint chipping, paint transfer, and corrosion patterns on each of the cars involved in an accident may all be examined by skilled investigators.

Keep an eye out for: Some cars may have been in previous accidents, and a dishonest driver may attempt to deceive the insurance company by claiming the damage from the previous accident was caused by the present accident.

Fortunately, investigators and insurance companies may examine rust patterns in a car to determine whether or not an accident occurred when two cars collide, paint chips off, or transfer from one to the other. Paint transfer and chipping patterns may reveal how an car accident happened and who is accountable financially.

While car damage does not convey the whole narrative of an car collision, it might help rule out certain possibilities.

EXPERTS IN ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION (METHOD 6)

Law enforcement authorities, attorneys, and insurance companies may turn to accident reconstruction professionals when serious or deadly accidents occur. Experts in accident reconstruction employ a scientific method to determine the reasons for an car accident and how it occurred.

Accident reconstruction specialists have a strong background in physics and engineering. To answer how an accident happened and who struck whom, they depend on a broad range of facts. The following is a summary of some of the data that accident reconstruction experts look at:

  • The location of each car’s final resting place
  • Evidence from the accident site, including skid marks and road conditions

 

  • Each car’s damage
  • The average speed of each car
  • The accident’s severity
  • Weather and visibility
  • The attitude of the driver
  • EDR information
  • Other variables, such as alcohol consumption, test results, and degrees of distraction

After an car collision, professionals who evaluate crash data can often identify who struck whom and give knowledgeable suggestions for your future moves. An accident reconstruction specialist is called upon to testify in court as an expert witness in many circumstances.

You should call an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible if a negligent driver is attempting to defraud you and blame you for the injury they caused. When another motorist impacts your car, you shouldn’t have to pay for the property damage and personal injury.

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