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| Black boxes, similar to those in airplanes, will
soon tell us objectively what happened in a car crash. How soon? Well, new GM
cars are already equipped with this state-of-the-art method of recording data
during an accident, and other manufacturers are following. The boxes, located
typically inside the passenger compartment or under the front seat, will record
such things as RPM, throttle position, braking information, systems status and
vehicle speed at time of impact. Cleveland lawyers learned about the black boxes
from Henry P. Lipian, accident reconstuctionist from Introtech, at a seminar
sponsored by the Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys last month. He said his
job of reconstructing will be greatly simplified by the new technology – the
data will assist in evidencing how the accident happened and who was at fault.
Mr. Lipian also discussed recent low-speed automobile crash test studies which showed that lack of damage to an automobile involved in an accident does not necessarily mean that the occupants were not injured. Modern shock absorbing bumpers are designed to protect the structure of the car – not the occupants. One can be in an auto crash with little or no outward damage to the vehicle, but the occupants can be severely injured. Mr. Lipian showed a film of an 8 mph rear-ender crash where, not surprisingly, there was little damage to the vehicle, but the driver received severe injury when his head snapped violently back and forward. The video positively demonstrated to the audience of trial lawyers and judges that an occupant of a vehicle involved in an accident could be severely injured in a low-speed crash even though the vehicle itself sustained little or no visible damage. But, there may be "invisible" damage. As Mr. Lipian suggested, check underneath the bumper covers for damage. There are various methods of "filling" the bumpers on today’s automobiles, each designed to absorb force when struck by another vehicle. Some of these fill materials under the bumpers will show signs of impact after an accident, but the bumper cover must be peeled back to see the damage. Brown & Szaller has retained Henry Lipian in several contested car crashes which resulted in severe injuries. Our goal is to get him to the accident scene as soon as possible – indeed, there have been times when he was at the scene the day of the crash. When he is there immediately, he can better locate skid marks, debris and determine how the accident occurred. Obviously, the later he is called by us to help, the less evidence is available for him to review.Therefore, if you know someone injured in an auto crash, call us as soon as possible so that we might quickly gather and preserve evidence – and, dependent on the situation, possibly retain an accident reconstuctionist. |
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