Crash investigators do this for a living?

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!!LORDIE!!! First I've read this thread. Wish your daughter the best. On a side note, my 95 Olds (nope still haven't gotten rid of it) has the damn seat belt MOUNTED TO THE DOOR. Isn't THAT a comforting thought should the door pop open in a serious crash? Not only will there be no protection, I could be "hung by my own belt" so to speak
 
I would take pics as the road is know, without the white line, and then after they hurry up and put one there.
 
Sorry to hear this, I hope she recovers well

Not to play devil's advocate here, but if her insurance is sufficient, I wouldn't even bother suing (purely personal prefference)
Now, given the severity of the injuries, and cost of care, the air lift alone could eat up an underinsured drivers coverage, and then you have no choice but to sue, but if you could avoid the headache, I would
 
TrailBeast said:
Our Daughter was in a serious accident last weekend and totaled her Dodge Avenger.
She was life flighted to the critical care unit in Phoenix and was on a ventilator for the first two days because they didn't think she was going to survive, but she is home now and doing ok considering she can hardly move and has multiple related injuries.
Her right side tires got off the edge of the freshly layed 3 inch thick black asphalt and it pulled her into the drainage ditch that the car couldn't climb back out of and at the next upcoming driveway she hit the end of a buried culvert and flipped the car literally tearing the front end off except for the motor and wheels.
This happened about 10pm Sunday night, and the new asphalt they layed just recently is on a sweeping corner with a 3 inch drop off edge (black) with no markings whatsoever, and on an unlit street.

Now here's the WTF? part of it.
The investigator said "she wasn't wearing her seat belt and was ejected from the passengers side window."

Well I got to the scene right after the crash because it was right down the street from our house.
I was looking at the car when they told me what they think happened.
I told the officer that she ALWAYS wears her seat belt, and that if she was ejected out the passengers side window, why was the window all the way up and not broken?

His response was that one of the other officers (or some random passer by) must have rolled it up after the accident. (obviously this is a stupid theory having zero witnesses or any info pointing to this)
Now I'm thinking this guy has NO clue about what he is doing and writing as a report.
I said that would be pretty hard to do considering the battery is just in front of the drivers side wheel and all that part of the car was ripped off.
That's when he started getting an attitude like I was interfering with his investigation.

Personally I would think the report should say "Due to a ridge on the edge of an unlit and completely unmarked or lined street the car tires dropped off the edge of the asphalt and pulled the car out of control into the drainage ditch where it could not be recovered and impacted a driveway culvert."
Obviously I realize why it won't say this, but everything points to this being the case.
Even the tire tracks off the edge and in the ditch indicate this.
Unfortunately our Daughter doesn't remember any of it, so there is no point in taking it any farther.

In the end it really doesn't matter what the sequence of events were, as the car is totaled and our Daughter was damn near dead, but what the hell this investigator was thinking and wrote in his report, and how he could come to his conclusion is ridiculous.
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Do you live in Supprise?
 
go take pics of the window up and the battery missing

ASAP

unfortunately there is usually a blanket "driving too fast for conditions" type infraction they can use when you are NOT speeding

they will say she should have slowed enough to maintain control because the markings were not present and it was dark and unlit
 
Beside getting pictures, record all conversations (in person and phone) with any one, that has anything to do with the accident, even your own insurance company and your own lawyer. Stories change and/or not consistant. Also make sure the lawyer you get has the financial resources to go after the other party. You can bet the other party's insurance lawyers will fight like hell, and have the resources to do so.
 
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Charrlie_S said:
Beside getting pictures, record all conversations (in person and phone) with any one, that has anything to do with the accident, even your own insurance company and your own lawyer. Stories change and/or not consistant. Also make sure the lawyer you get has the financial resources to go after the other party. You can bet the other party's insurance lawyers will fight like hell, and have the resources to do so.
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Just make sure she lives in a one party consent state...or it might be illegal to record conversations without the other parties permission
 
diymirage said:
Just make sure she lives in a one party consent state...or it might be illegal to record conversations without the other parties permission
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Tell them you are recording. If they say you can't, ask what they are afraid of. Will give you something to think about. I'm in Florida, which is a two party consent state. Had a situation with an insurance company, that wouldn't agree to my recording, but their system says they record all calls. I said "fine", do everything by USPS, and hung up. Then you have everything in writing, which is actually easier to bring to court, if it is necessary. From personal experience, don't even trust your own lawyer.
 
Glad your daughter is doing better.

Plan on seeing "driving too fast for conditions" in the future.

Help the girl get better! Hope the recovery is speedy.
 
doogievlg said:
When my friend had his motorcycle accident the police officer said he was traveling at an estimated 110 mph. The accident happened roughly 50 yards after a hard turn and there is no way he got up to 110 in that span. Similar situation to yours where no one else was involved to the investigation didn’t matter much but it made me question how they got that information. One officer told me that the speedometer was at 110 on the bike. Does anyone know if the speedometer stays at the speed someone was traveling when the accident happened?
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There are plenty of bikes that will hit 110 from a dead stop in fifty yards. Not disputing antibody, just saying.

Whether or not he was on one is a different story altogether, and ability does not guilt make.

Having done wreck rebuilds on plenty of bikes, I can say that any vehicle can have the Speedo stop anywhere if mechanical damage is a factor, and some gauges will hold final speed at shut off and some will not. It just depends on the manufacturer design and holds true for any non mechanical gauge.

I've seen Harleys that were parked when hit, registering triple digit speeds on the dead Speedo.
 
jos51700 said:
There are plenty of bikes that will hit 110 from a dead stop in fifty yards. Not disputing antibody, just saying.

Whether or not he was on one is a different story altogether, and ability does not guilt make.

Having done wreck rebuilds on plenty of bikes, I can say that any vehicle can have the Speedo stop anywhere if mechanical damage is a factor, and some gauges will hold final speed at shut off and some will not. It just depends on the manufacturer design and holds true for any non mechanical gauge.

I've seen Harleys that were parked when hit, registering triple digit speeds on the dead Speedo.
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This was a buell so it may be similar to a Harley.
 
Dang man. Addin yall to our prayer list.

"One call, that's all."
 
Wow! Sure sorry to hear about this Greg but real glad she lived. I'm thinking he didn't write up what really caused the wreck so the state or city (depending on where it was) couldn't be sued.
 
JeffisOld said:
How is she doing today?
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About the same as when she came home.
She looks and feels like she got run over by a garbage truck, and can barely move around.
Pain meds are the only way she can even get out of bed.
Thank you for asking.
 
Sorry to hear about your daughter, glad she is recovering. And yes she may feel ok when she revovers from this, however she may end up with chronic pain issues years later from her injuries. I had 2 bad car wrecks when i was in my teens and early 20s. I seemed ok at the time, however i ended up with chronic lower back pain and neck pain. Ended up with a fusion of #6#7 vertebra in my neck a number of years ago when my arm muscles started convulsing at random, and kept dropping **** like pens and eating utensils from no feeling in my hands. Then my lower back pain got to where my left leg nerve pinched and locked up all the muscles in my left leg. I had surgery for it about 2 years ago. I'm ok but not great. Point is the county knows they fucked up, unmarked new asphalt on an unlit curve, 3" thick drop off at the edge, and your daughters accident. They are circling the wagons, cop sounds like a tool to me. Was prob told to cover their tracks. Like everybody else has said, pictures, pictures etc of the road before they fix it, as well as the car with the battery ripped out of it. Your daughter may also have bruising consistant with a tightened shoulder belt, get pix of that too. I am glad she is going to be alright, but they fucked up, and they know it, and they are trying to lie about it. Take em to court.
 
I have some experience with accident investigators. Odd to me that there was an investigator on scene or was he there later the next day? Their determination depends on who hires them. Yeh, I know, you think they should be impartial and only look at the facts. Nope. Not how it works. Who hired the investigator to look at the scene? The County?
As for speedometers indicating the speed at the accident, yes that does happen. Far as I know it is not admissible evidence in court. Aviation investigators often use instrument needle slap but, they are only investigating and not accruing evidence for a court case.
I'm not sure but, if the police report says "no seat belt worn" and it's required by law, her insurance may not pay or they'll at least try not to.
Who arrived at the scene first? police, EMS, another motorist. Like others said, get their statement.
Unmarked road with out any warning signs, e.g. "Unmarked Pavement Ahead" is a cause for blaming the county.
 
Yep agree, unmarked road without any warning signs is a cause for a lawsuit regardless if a belt was worn or not. Still if she was wearing a belt and still ejected from the car anyways, there will be signs of this. The most obvious being a belt width bruise or contusion across her shoulder area, as well as the belt mounting points on that seat belt being bent inside the car from the force against them, and belt retracter pendulum brackets being bent from locking down and holding the belt tight.

This brings up another question. If she was wearing her belt and stiil was ejected from the car, how did that happen? Did the belt fail during the wreck causing this? If so, you may have grounds for a lawsuit against the car company too.
 
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matthon said:
long story short, one drives away, other stays...Two military guys had the wrong house, drunk, mad, cold....
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Thats F'd up on 2 points. 1 is that they tried to break and enter your house, and 2: That pussy left his buddy behind to take the wrap!!! No one left behind.....
 
First off i am sorry 2 hear about the accident but so happy she is alive. Cars r replaceable ppl are not. Im an auto insurance adjuster. You know the guy who looks at the wrecked cars and gives u an estimate. As long as your insurance company is handling everything it doesn't matter what the investigator says. Now if you're seeking legal action then thats a different story. But at the end of the day you still have your daughter. God bless ur family.
 
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