Motor vehicle accidents can be attributed to various causes, and often there are several factors that contribute to a single accident. For that reason, it can take time to establish fault for an accident. Bravo Zulu’s accident investigators have years of experience investigating motor vehicle accidents. Such expertise is vital if all parties responsible for a motor vehicle accident are going to be held accountable for the injuries and damages they caused.

The actions of a driver play a huge role in most motor vehicle accidents. About 40 percent of car accident fatalities occur because of a drunken driver. Another 30 percent of car accident fatalities can be attributed to driving above the speed limits and well over 33 percent occur because of reckless driving. Driver errors, such as failure to yield the right of way, following too closely, driving at excessive speeds, unsafe passing, and disregard of a traffic control device, also cause many accidents. Finally, distracted drivers - those who are talking on their cell phones, changing the radio, etc. - are responsible for many motor vehicle accidents.

Vehicle defects can also cause car accidents. Sometimes the injuries suffered in an accident will be made worse by a design or manufacturing defect, such as one which makes an SUV more susceptible to rolling over in an accident or a gas tank more likely to ignite in a collision, or a manufacturing defect which causes a seatbelt to fail or an airbag to deploy improperly.

Often poor road design causes motor vehicle accidents. A poorly designed roadway, intersection, or means of controlling traffic can at times cause or contribute to an accident. Poorly placed road signs or barriers can cause unnecessary injury when vehicles collide with them. At times, such defects will result in liability by the governmental agency responsible for the design and maintenance of the roadway.

Very often, two or more of the factors listed here combine to cause a motor vehicle accident. This is when it can be tricky to establish fault. Our accident investigators conduct thorough investigations in all cases and assist our clients in determining the factors that directly caused or contributed to a collision.  This allows our clients to take the appropriate action as needed to recover losses or prevent future incidents.

Our accident investigation services include the following:

• Visual inspection of vehicles involved in accident
  • damage evaluations
  • seat belt, headlamp and tire examination
  • photograph vehicles

• Crash data retrieval (included in hourly rate)
  • download data and analyze
  • written data summary

• Inspection of scene
  • photograph scene
  • at-scene measurements
  • document road type
  • inspect positioning of road signs and/or signals
  • identify possible visibility issues or restrictions on line of sight
  • inspection and photos of other fixed objects involved such as bicycles, street signs, trees,  buildings or poles
  • inspection and photos of roadway evidence, such as skid marks or gouges
    
  
  
• Witness/Driver Statements
  • review recorded statements
  • review depositions

• Review police and/or accident reports

• Data analysis and accident reconstruction
  • compare all data collected
  • summarize vehicle speeds, directions and actions both pre- and post-crash
  • use occupant kinematics to explain injuries
  • computer generated scale diagrams with aerial photo overlay
  
  
• Cause analysis
  • identify driver errors that influenced the accident such as excessive speed or failure to yield the right of way

• Provide copy of reports, data and photos

• Preparation of court trial materials
  • complete accident investigation report
  • photographic displays
  • animated crash
  • review reports of opposing expert

 Call the experts at Bravo Zulu for more information.