Detailed Investigation Of Location Of Accident Reverals Driver's Testimony About Motor Vehicle Accident A Lie
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2010-11-15 20:10:52 | Word Count: 721
It is not uncommon for lawyers representing victims of motor vehicle accidents to run into a case with two drivers who have drastically different accounts of the accident. Experience on the part of the attorney and the willingness to fully investigate the circumstances of the accident, including personally viewing the scene of the accident, may make all the difference between a successful result and a loss.
Check out a case with an intersection accident. One driver was driving a truck that made a left hand turn into the intersection. The other driver was operating an automobile traveling straight and entering the intersection from the truck's right. The truck slammed into the car. The driver of the car, who was badly hurt in the accident, stated his light was yellow as he went into the intersection. He admitted to speeding up to make the light. The driver of the truck, on the other hand, claimed that the driver of the car had been speeding and ran a red light when he went into the intersection. The way the lights at the intersection worked, if the victim's light had been yellow then the truck driver's turn signal the timing was such that it would not have been possible for it to turn green as the defendant claimed.
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This was not an accident involving just slight injuries. In actuality, the victim suffered several injuries. He sustained fractures to his left forearm. He sustained a laceration on his head. He underwent surgery for the forearm fracture. The surgery required internal fixation. He had to have approximately 20 staples for the head injury. The victim was forty at the time of the accident.
The law firm that represented the plaintiff victim did its own investigation of the accident scene. First, the attorney became familiar with the scene of the accident (the intersection) and then learned that even if the plaintiff victim's light had already turned red before he entered the intersection, the defendant truck driver's left turn arrow would also have been red. The next green would have been for traffic coming from the left of the truck. The defendant truck driver would not have the right of way until that traffic (the driver waiting to the defendant's left) had a chance to go through the intersection.
The law firm next secured the testimony form a representative of the Department of Transportation who confirmed the exact sequencing and timing of the traffic lights at the intersection where the accident happened. The representative's testimony, when combined with the testimony of the driver who was waiting for a green light from the truck driver's left, established that the truck driver could not have had a green left hand turn signal when he made the turn and slammed into the victim's vehicle.
The lawsuit went to trial because the insurance company for the defendant would not settle the lawsuit. It would not settle the lawsuit even with the evidence that the law firm had been able to put together. It would not settle the lawsuit even for the plaintiff's demand of $300,000 just one day before the trial. At the close of the trial the jury apportioned 15% of blame for the accident on the plaintiff and 85% of blame for the accident on the defendant. The law firm was able to report that after accounting for these percentages the plaintiff recovered $467,000.
The lawsuit shows that, under certain circumstances, even though they are at risk of an adverse jury awardjudgment against them, insurance companies, through their adjusters, will not settle a case. They sometimes believe their insured irrespective of how much the facts refute the insured's story. This happens much more frequently than many people realize.
Lawyers handling such matters ought to thoroughly prepare the case for trial in order to obtain a suitable recovery for the victim.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting motor vehicle accident cases. To learn more about the way a truck accident lawyer can assit you and about other vehicle accident matters including fatal car accident matters visit the websites
