Blog
Using drones in accident reconstruction cases
by Mandy Hicks
By Kyle Roby
Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP
Telling a story about an event is one thing. But it’s so much more powerful when you can show what happened. That’s the job of accident reconstructionists, and their work is extremely important in helping juries and judges understand how, exactly, a crash occurred.
Accident re-constructionists now have a new tool available that has been a game-changer for showing what happened: drones. If you aren’t familiar with drones, these are remote-powered cameras that fly. They’re lightweight and powerful, and can take both video and still photos, and they’re becoming very popular as they’ve come down in price.
The drones can get a view of a roadway like nothing else can. Drones can show exactly how an intersection comes together from many angles, including from directly above and from all sides. With video footage and still photos from a drone, accident re-constructionists can create an animation of how vehicles crashed together on a roadway. The footage a drone shoots can also be rendered into CAD drawings that contain complete information on measurements, scale, size of vehicles and other scientific information that helps court officials properly review a case.
The work our firm does with accident re-constructionists can show details such as how far out tractor-trailer blind spots extend, where the other vehicle was during the accident and what happened when the two collided. There’s no more powerful way to explain an accident than with an animation of what happened.
In some cases, once the accident reconstruction is complete and the opposing side sees it, it prompts a settlement offer, because the reconstructions help to show who exactly is at fault in a car crash case. Naturally, most of our clients prefer to avoid the expense and time of going to court, so we’re happy to pursue a settlement on a client’s behalf if we feel it is fair to the client and the client wants to settle.
For our firm, there’s simply no substitute for being up-to-date on the latest technology that can help our clients. If you need an attorney to assist you with your accident case, contact me, Kyle Roby, at (270) 781-6500 or kroby@elpolaw.com. We will be happy to assist you.
Related blog posts:
Common Causes of Truck Wrecks in Kentucky and Tennessee, Sept. 25, 2015
Amusement Parks Accidents and Injuries, July 28, 2015
