By David Peel
First impressions matter. When a car that is in a crash looks to be barely damaged. It is understandable that one might assume no one in that car is hurt. The opposite is also true. When we see a car that is squashed beyond recognition, it is likely for one to believe that no one could’ve walked out of the car alive.
Of course, doing what I do for approaching three decades, I have seen literally thousands of crash scenes. I probably have as many pictures of destroyed vehicles as a small body shop, and while there is no doubt a relationship exists between the amount of damage to vehicle, and the predicted injuries to the people, it is not by any means 100%.
It takes only one impact from something to cause significant damage. For instance, I had a client who suffered hearing problems after a skull fracture caused by his head hitting the drivers head during the collision. In another case, I have had a client suffer a concussion from bumping their head against the window during the collision. If you think about it, it takes very little impact to move someone’s head. The rest of the body might be strapped down in the seatbelts, and it’s been relatively recently that we had side impact airbags that popped out.
And the opposite is true as I mentioned. There are times where a car doesn’t even look like a car anymore and the person is relatively unscathed. I see this most often in the drunk drivers that hit our clients. That may be my favorite kind of defendant to sue. A drunk driver left my mother for dead after an accident when I was a child, and I’ve gladly sued them ever since.
Insurance companies often evaluate cases initially based on the car impact because that’s the only photographs they have. It is possible to have thousands of dollar’s worth of damage to a vehicle that looks just fine because of a plastic bumper. Underneath there might be $3000 worth of damage just to that area but the bumper is fine.
It is a good idea to document damages within the interior of the car if you can. If the seat breaks, bends backwards, or you leave a dent on something in the car that may not be preserved by the time I’m involved. As with everything, document document document. You can always delete these pictures later on if they don’t prove helpful, but if you don’t get them early, you never will.
Start taking pictures on the scene of an accident. Make sure you get witnesses, tag numbers of witnesses, the cars, and any other scene information and vehicles you can capture. If you can’t do it, ask somebody to do it and share with you.
There is certainly a correlation between car damage and injuries to human occupants. But it is not full proof. If it were, the ambulance crews would merely take a picture of the cars and send that to the ER. But they don’t. They individually check out each human being in there because we were all fearfully and wonderfully made. And an impact can affect a one person in a vehicle severely while leaving the other person unscathed.
Peel seeks justice for those injured in tractor trailer and car accidents, medical malpractice, and disability. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Peel may be reached through PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.
