In cases against railroads or trucking companies where an injured victim needs to prove that defendant negligence was the cause of the injuries, the victim’s attorney must use diligence and savvy inquiry to track down and secure the evidence necessary to prove the claim. One of the best sources of accurate and reliable evidence about what happened in a train or truck accident is the data from the vehicle’s own Event Data Recorder (EDR) or “black box.”
EDRs record all sorts of detailed data such as daily engine usage and speed, driver inputs, restraint usage, safety equipment deployments, braking status, and other information relevant to the crash. Types of data recorded might vary based upon the engine type of the vehicle and the type of recording technology used (magnetic tape, solid state microprocessor-based recorders, or control system embedded recorders).
Regulations require that railroads and trucking companies preserve the EDR data for specific lengths of time after a crash with injuries or fatalities or after certain other types of events. They are also required to provide the data to the FMCSA (for truck accidents) or the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration, for trains). But trucking companies and railroads don’t necessarily want to face up to the liabilities caused by their negligence. So they might lose the recorders and their data, they might destroy the data, or they might let it “spoil,” making it difficult for you to prove your claim.
Your Conroe, TX accident attorney should send a strong “spoliation” letter to the trucking company or railroad involved in your collision to ensure preservation of the EDR evidence. Where a trucking company or railroad won’t provide the EDR data directly, your attorney can sometimes obtain that data from the FMCSA or the FRA.
The EDR and its data are some of your best weapons in your injury accident claim. The data, clearly interpreted and explained by an accident reconstruction EDR expert, can paint a clear picture of defendant liability for your injuries. This clear evidence could facilitate a generous settlement offer or your victory at trial before a jury.
But the EDR data, its extraction, and its interpretation are highly technical and complex. Special software is required to extract the data. Detailed charts, graphs, and tables are used to relate the raw numerical data to real-world information like the circumference of a wheel, the pressure on a brake, or the change in speed and direction before a crash occurred.
You need a Conroe, TX accident attorney with in-depth experience using EDR evidence to accurately interpret and present this data. You need the EDR expert witnesses that your Conroe, TX accident attorney can marshal on your behalf in order to make a winning presentation of your claim and the evidence that supports it.
Go to Part 2.