Black Box- Truck Accident Investigation
Black Box Providing Evidence in Truck Accidents
Many late model automobiles and trucks are installed with a computer called an Event Data Recorder (EDR), also often referred to as a “Black Box.” When triggered by an impact, accident or similar event, the EDR records certain information about the accident. The information recorded can include various events in the few seconds preceding a crash, including speed, airbag deployment, braking, RPMs, and even whether the driver’s seatbelt was fastened. Thus, the information from these devices can be collected after a crash and analyzed by an expert to help determine what the vehicles and drivers were doing before, during, and after the accident.
In a lawsuit involving claims for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, the data obtained from the EDR can be helpful in establishing whether or not the negligent party was speeding, attempted to avoid the collision, attempted to brake, etc. (See e.g. Harris v. Weaver, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, decided August 17, 2006 [Docket No. No. 265617, No. 265618] [http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/documents/OPINIONS/FINAL/COA/20060817_C265617_38_265617.OPN.PDF] In civil lawsuits, EDR data has been admissible and deemed reliable under universally accepted evidentiary standards. (See Bachman v. General Motors Corporation, 332 Ill. App. 3rd 760 (4th Dist 2003).
In order to use the information from the EDR as evidence in a personal injury lawsuit, a qualified expert first must download the information from the EDR. It will also be necessary to assess factors that could affect the reliability of the data (e.g tire size). This type of evidence can be very helpful to establish that a particular Defendant acted negligently. Thus it can serve as a powerful tool in maximizing damages in a settlement where injuries are established but liability is strongly contested. Our law firm has been successful in using EDR data to obtain significant settlements in several automobile accident lawsuits in Michigan.
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BUCKFIRE & BUCKFIRE, P.C. is a Michigan personal injury law firm and is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time of the posting of the article. The information contained in this article is from online news sources and any perceived misstatements should be attributed to those sources as we did not complete any investigation of the accident. If you believe that the information is inaccurate and would like it changed or would like this post completely removed from the site, please let us know and we will do our best to promptly accommodate your request. We are very sensitive to these requests.
If you were involved in this accident or a similar accident and have questions about your legal rights and options, it is important that you contact a reputable law firm. Please make sure that any Michigan law firm that you contact has significant experience in handling these types of accident and injury cases and has an excellent track record of successful settlements and jury verdicts. We also suggest that the attorney you contact provides you with a free initial consultation.
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