In most NY car accident cases, the big question is about the injuries. Are they "serious" enough to qualify under NY law? And if so, how much are they worth?
Usually, liability, or fault for the accident is straightforward. The defendant rear-ended the plaintiff. Defendant had a stop sign or red light. Plaintiff had right of way.
In some cases (probably less than 10%), liability is a big question. And in some of those cases, it can be very helpful to have an expert review the facts of the case and reconstruct what happened.
A year or two ago I had a big trial, where I thought we had a lock on fault for the accident. The defendant was driving a dump truck with a trailer attached, and decided to make a reverse three-point turn in the middle of a 55 mph two-lane highway. My client hit the rear corner of the truck with her windshield, got 30 shards of glass in her face, a broken sternum, and had a variety of other problems.
The defense offered an accident reconstructionist, George Ruotolo. He did a good job of explaining to the jury why my client should have seen the defendant from far enough back that she should have been able to stop. My client didn't remember what happened, so she couldn't explain that.
Apparently the jury liked what the expert had to say. Fortunately I had made a deal with the defense for what's called a high-low. We agreed to cap damages at $300K, in exchange for a floor of $50K. The jury zipped us -- zero damages. So we got the $50K. If we had gotten a big verdict, we would have been limited to the 300.
So I've got a new case percolating, and it could be a big one. I can see that liability will be a big issue at the trial. Usually you would wait to hire a reconstructionist, but I know Ruotolo is good. I also know the local insurance claim reps and the local defense attorneys like to use him. So I went out and got him early. They're probably going to want a reconstruction. I figure this way it makes their lives a little tougher.
It also helps to get him involved early because it makes me think about what I need to do to get all our ducks in a row. We met already at the scene and talked afterward, and it helped me figure out some things I want to do, and that I should do quickly rather than waiting for the normal process.
Accident reconstructionists are usually, like Ruotolo, former cops who did a lot of this kind of work when they were cops. He also did a lot of work training other cops. Now he speaks at seminars for lawyers. They review the available evidence, advise the attorney on what other evidence should be available, and work with that evidence to figure out how the accident happened.
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