Assessment of Fault in Auto Accidents - Tires and Other Evidence Destroyed
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 335
Clients make a crucial mistake when they listen to insurance companies' propaganda about how trial lawyers can't be trusted. If the insurance industry can get you to take the bait and delay getting a lawyer, they can then settle with you for the wrecked car, take possession of the wreck and destroy the evidence.
A car accident was reported on by the Newton Daily News, out of North Monroe involving a Dodge Durango and a Pontiac Sunfire. Both drivers were seriously injured and the Durango driver lost her unborn child. Obviously this is a terrible tragedy for the woman. As reported the Durango crossed over the center line and was struck broadside by the Sunfire. The Iowa State Patrol officer, Marc Griggs was reported to have "speculated that the icy conditions on Highway 14 Wednesday morning, as well as the lack of tread on the Durango's tires may have played a part in the accident."
Now that is an interesting observation from Trooper Griggs. He's obviously a trooper that is looking for the cause of the collision. His observation says something very important about the evidence in this case and one that needs further comment. Many clients think they can handle their own case in terms of dealing with the insurance company and if insurance claims were not so complicated it might be that simple, but they aren't and it's not. Many clients forget about an important element of later proving the case - the art of preserving evidence. Lay people don't know what to preserve or how to preserve. And that is what this post is about.
Waiting to get the right lawyer can sink your case. Waiting to get any lawyer can be the end of an otherwise viable case. Let's talk about delay. Normally a lawyer doesn't get called by the client until well after the cars have been sold for junk and scrapped. By then the most important evidence, in this case the tires and the alleged icy roads are destroyed or vaporized. And when the evidence is destroyed proving the case becomes next to impossible. I don't care how good your lawyer is, if the evidence has been destroyed so has your claim.
Trials are all about the evidence. Evidence is about proving facts. Proving a fact by someone's opinion is not a very easy way to win a case. In this case two critical pieces of evidence are the tires and the icy condition of the road surface. Let's look only at the issue of the tires.
In this case you want the tires as evidence. That would allow you to show absolute proof of failure to properly maintain the vehicle's condition in a road worthy state. That would be clear evidence of negligence. Couple that with an icy road surfaces the outcome is predictable. Now, if you don't have the tires the next best evidence might be photographs of the tires. But photographs won't allow the tread depth to be measured requiring the officer's opinion to be expressed on tread depth and tire wear patterns. That requires the officer to describe four tires, to remember which wheels they were on, what depth existed all around the tire, what tire damage occurred in the accident and a whole host of other facts that there is no man on God's Green Earth that has that kind of recall. In other words he will never be allowed to offer that testimony because no judge will believe him and therefore it will be concluded he's speculating and you'll never get to the jury on this issue. And that is the point of this blawg post.
The best evidence in this case is the physical object - the tires. Without the tires, and there should be four of them clearly marked and preserved from further deterioration or destruction, this case turns into an argument over whose memory is better. And that's not the makings of a winning case.
Tomorrow I'm going to discuss a case that was all about the tires and how the lawyer being called in on the day of the wreck saved the one piece of evidence that eventually settled the case for over $600,000.00.