What is an 'Accident Reconstruction'?

 

An accident reconstruction is the application of scientific and engineering principles to available evidence resulting from a collision to determine how it occurred.  Evidence is collected from all available sources including roads, vehicles, and people.

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• Police Reports supply information of environmental conditions, where the vehicles collided and came to rest, and any tire markings.

• Photographs of the accident site, approach paths, vehicles involved, and resultant damage.

• Site Inspection provides information as to where critical events occurred, and whether roadway conditions may have been a factor in the collision.

• Weather Data provides evidence of road conditions based upon meteorological factors such as ice, rain, fog, sun glare, etc.

• Medical Reports from hospitals and coroners identify injuries that resulted from the collision.

• Vehicle Inspection Data shows how vehicles contacted other objects and can point to vehicle defects or improper maintenance.

• Crash Data Retrieval (Black Box) Information

• Summaries of Statements and Testimony

 

Do I need an accident reconstruction?

 

If your case needs answers to issues relating to vehicle speed, avoidability, sight distance, collision severity or code violations, then yes, you should retain an accident reconstruction expert. Even minor impacts and collision events may require expertise that would otherwise be left up to general nonscientific interpretation.

 

Who do we work for?

 

We are usually retained by plaintiff and defense attorneys and insurance carriers. Our business relationship depends solely on the merits of the case which enables us to maintain an objective expert/client relationship. Many accident reconstruction firms have focused their efforts on providing services to either defense or plaintiff clients. Klingen, Kelley & Associates takes pride in balancing our assignments so that our assignments represent a mix of both clients, thereby minimizing an assertion that our expertise is available only to one class of clients. We would be pleased to share with you some of the firms that have been satisfied with our work and are willing to offer references regarding our expertise.

Because accidents often involve litigation, we require independent parties to obtain legal counsel before engaging our services.

 

How much does an accident reconstruction cost?

 

The cost of a crash analysis or reconstruction is dependent on the information reviewed and the scope of the project. Our fees are based only on the amount of time expended in performing the assignment and are never contingent upon the outcome of the case. Preliminary findings are discussed with our clients in order to minimize any unnecessary expenses. 

 

What do we need to reconstruct an accident?

 

Of course, the ideal situation would be to respond to every accident scene that we are asked to reconstruct, but this is not typically possible so we must rely on information such as the police investigation reports, scene photographs, vehicle damage photographs, damage appraisals, witness statements, answers to interrogatories, depositions, and testimony. The quality of information received is directly related to the comprehensiveness of our analysis. Whenever possible, every attempt should be made to locate the accident vehicles for physical inspection and the vast majority of cases require a site visit.  The more hands-on evaluations and inspections we can perform the more accurate and comprehensive analysis will be.

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The following documents should be forwarded to our office as they become available:

• Police Accident Report

• Any supplemental investigation reports

• Statements

• ORIGINAL COLOR police photographs (when available) of the accident scene

• ORIGINAL COLOR photographs (when available) of the damaged vehicles involved

• Damage Appraisal Reports regarding vehicle’s involved

• Bill of Particulars

• Answers to Interrogatories

• Transcripts of Depositions or examinations under oath.

• Medical information (specifically EMS report, ER reports, discharge summary, doctor’ reports, operative reports, and autopsy reports)

 

What is Crash Data Retrieval?

 

Starting in early-to-mid 90s recordable air bag modules (sometimes called "black boxes") have been installed in various vehicles.  Since 2014, it is a federal requirement that the data captured by airbag modules during a collision event be retrievable.  Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) is the process of uploading and decoding the data that was written to a vehicle airbag module.  We utilize the Bosch® Crash Data Retrieval toolkit and related software to collect this valuable crash data.  Depending on the specific module, the downloaded data can include information such as seatbelt status, vehicle speed, accelerator pedal position, brake application, steering input, Delta-V and other important functional information related to the pre-crash operation of a vehicle.  An expert can utilize this data and then interpret and analyze it as a reconstruction tool to provide a synopsis of what was occurring in the vehicle before and sometimes after the collision.  It is important to note that data can be captured and downloaded from an airbag module even when there is no airbag deployments.