Claims Consultant Chris Cloude

Seat belts are important safety features of modern vehicles that save lives and prevent injuries. Below are some facts and statistics that illustrate the importance of using your seat belt while in a motor vehicle 1:

Safety Belt Statistics

• One out of every five drivers will be involved in a traffic crash this year.
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among people age 44 and younger and the number one cause of head and spinal cord injury.
• Approximately 35,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes each year. About 50 percent (17,000) of these people could be saved if they wore their safety belts.
• More than 90 percent of all motorists believe safety belts are good idea, but less than 14 percent actually use them.
• For every one percent increase in safety belt use, 172 lives and close to $100 million in annual injury and death costs could be saved.
• Safety belts when used properly reduce the number of serious traffic injuries by 50 percent and fatalities by 60-70 percent.
• For maximum protection safety belts should be fastened before traveling any distance or speed. Seventy-five percent of crash deaths and injuries occur within 25 miles of home. More than half of all injury-producing motor vehicle crashes involve low speeds under 40 m.p.h.
• Motorists are 25 times are more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash when they are “thrown clear” than when they remain inside their vehicle.
• In a 30 m.p.h. collision, an unbelted 160 lb. person can strike another passenger, crash through a windshield and/or slam into the vehicle’s interior with a 4,800 lb. force.
• Motorists can increase safety belt usage by example and verbal reminders. Nine out of 10 people buckle up when asked.
• Safety belt use is one of the best defenses against the unpredictable actions of the drunk driver.
• Today over 25 countries around the world have some type of mandatory safety belt law. Results of these laws were measured; usage rate went from 20-25 percent before passage to 60-90 percent after passage.
• A common cause of death and injury to children in motor vehicles is being crushed by adults who are not wearing safety belts. One out of four serious injuries to passengers is caused by occupants being thrown into each other.
• About 80 percent of all injuries to children in car crashes are injuries to the head, causing brain damage, permanent disfigurement, epilepsy or death.
• Of every 100 children who die in motor vehicle crashes at least 80 would survive if they were properly secured in an approved child safety seat or safety belts.
• Three out of four families with child safety seats fail to use them correctly. Adults need to follow manufacturer’s instructions and secure seats properly before every trip.
• An estimated 80 percent of American children area immunized against contagious diseases, but less than 10 percent are properly restrained when riding in a motor vehicle.

These statistics speak for themselves and are reminders of the importance of seat belt usage. Several years ago, I assisted in handling a case involving a “T-bone” crash where one vehicle attempted to make a left turn while the other vehicle was proceeding in the opposite direction straight through the intersection. The vehicle going straight through the intersection drove straight into the passenger side of the vehicle attempting the left turn in front of it. The speeds involved in this crash were relatively low. The vehicle going straight through the intersection was traveling approximately 35 mph. This was a hard impact, but certainly not a collision that would normally result in a fatality. Unfortunately, the passenger in the vehicle going straight through the intersection was not using a seat belt. At the time of impact, this passenger was thrown forward just as the air bag deployed. The person suffered a fractured cervical spine (neck) from the impact with the air bag and died at the scene Had the passenger been wearing their seat belt they would have been held in their seat and the impact with the air bag would have been minimized. Most likely they would have survived the crash with minor injuries.

Make safety a habit. The next time you get in a car, remember to buckle up. Should you be involved in an accident, your family and loved ones will be glad you did.

About the Author: Chris Cloude is a claims consulting with the Virginia personal injury law firm of Allen & Allen. Working under the supervision of Fredericksburg car accident attorney Edward Allen, Chris helps clients handle their personal injury claims.

Prompt Investigation is Crucial

Prompt investigation is important in every kind of accident, but is especially critical in obtaining a satisfactory settlement or an excellent jury verdict in a tractor trailer accident case. Under Virginia law, the injured party, called the plaintiff, has the burden of proving how and why his accident happened. If the injured party cannot do this, he cannot win his case. The person who caused the accident can remain silent; they have no obligation to present evidence or a defense of any kind at trial as to the accident’s cause.
This may not seem fair, but it is a fact the injured plaintiff and their tractor trailer accident attorney must live with. Consequently, in a trucking case, where the stakes are often high because injuries and other damages are frequently very serious, it is critical that an investigation begin immediately after an accident. Otherwise crucial evidence case may be lost forever.

The Insurance Company Investigation

Remember, you’ve got competition. Early accident investigation is important in most cases, but in crashes involving large trucks it can be decisive and insurance companies know this. It is standard practice for a trucking company’s insurer to act within minutes or hours after a bad accident to secure evidence that may help its truck driver avoid accountability for his negligence.

Sometimes a trucking company or their insurance company acts so quickly that investigators arrive at the scene while the police are still there. The investigator’s goal is to find all evidence that might help show their truck driver is not responsible for causing the crash. Don’t expect they will bother to document evidence that may help your case!

Of course, an innocent person injured through the negligence of a trucker cannot field a team of investigators as quickly as a trucking company can. However, by engaging an attorney to investigate your case as quickly as possible, you may be able to preserve crucial evidence that will help you win your case.

Eyewitness Accounts

Sometimes the most important testimony regarding the causes of a truck accident comes from independent eyewitnesses who saw the accident take place and recognize it was the defendant’s fault. This type of evidence, especially when it comes from someone who is not acquainted with the plaintiff, usually makes a positive impression on jurors and is very important.

Finding these witnesses soon after the crash, and documenting their recollection of the accident while it is still fresh in their minds, is imperative. Nothing is more discouraging for an attorney than to track down a witness a year or two after an accident only to have that witness tell him the accident happened so long ago the witness really doesn’t remember much about it.

Police Investigation

You want your lawyer or a member of his staff to interview the law enforcement officers who investigated your case as soon as possible. It is rare for a police officer, sheriff, or state trooper to see an accident happen. However, the evidence they gather at an accident scene may play a critical role in the success of your case and reinforce eyewitness accounts. Where no independent eyewitnesses exist, a police investigation may provide most of the first hand evidence a jury will rely on to determine how your accident happened and who was at fault.

Law enforcement officers usually respond to serious truck accidents within minutes. They photograph the scene and the damaged vehicles. They measure skid marks and tire tracks. They examine vehicle debris and scan the area for radiator and brake fluid. When they investigate accidents involving death or severe injuries, they may also ask a special crash team to perform an accident reconstruction. Your lawyer wants to secure all this information early in your case so he can engage experts to help piece together what happened during your accident.

Although police officers ordinarily write up their findings in formal investigation reports, sometimes they don’t include everything they know or remember. By interviewing these officers promptly, your lawyer can document what they remember but didn’t write down. Like other eyewitnesses, a police officer’s independent memory of an accident is likely to fade with time.

Many officers keep personal notebooks in their squad cars and make handwritten notes identifying eyewitnesses and quoting their exact words. They may not copy these notes, word for word, in their official accident reports. Worse, they sometimes throw away their personal notebook when it is full, when they change employers, or when they move. For all these reasons, a personal interview with an investigating officer shortly after a crash can reward you and your attorney with useful information that may not be available later.

Robert L. Mertig, Claims Consultant

Virginia law allows that, even after proper repairs have been made, you can recover the “loss of value” of your repaired vehicle after an accident in addition to the cost of the repairs. 1 Insurance companies and auto repair shops called this loss of value the “diminution of value” or “diminished value” of the vehicle.

In layman’s terms, “diminished value” means the difference in value between a vehicle that has never been damaged and the same vehicle after it has been damaged but has been properly repaired. Most of the time there is no significance difference but sometimes there is a tremendous difference. For instance, if you bought a mint condition 1967 Mustang Shelby convertible 2 and then someone ran into and did a lot of damage, including bending the frame and ripping out the motor mounts, then even if you had someone make excellent repairs, the car would still not be worth what an undamaged one would cost.

Given the choice of purchasing a car that had never been damaged or purchasing a car that had been in a significant accident, most people would prefer the one that had never been damaged. How much is that difference worth? In determining whether there is any diminished value and, if so, what the amount of the diminished value is, many factors are considered. Important factors include the extent and nature of the damage to the vehicle; the cost of the repairs; the age of the vehicle; and whether the car is a limited edition, a collector’s item, or if other special circumstances exist. To make a diminished value claim, it is important to document the extent of the damage and the repairs with photographs. You will almost always need a written inspection by a qualified appraiser who can testify, if necessary, as to the condition of the vehicle after repairs are complete and the value of such a vehicle without damage or repairs.

The Allen Law Firm pursues diminished value claims on behalf of its clients on a regular basis in appropriate circumstances. These claims are handled as a “value added” service to our clients; usually the only expense is the appraisal fee unless the attorney is forced to litigate 3 the case in order to recover damages.

Diminished value claims can only be made in certain situations. There are two types of motor vehicle property damage claims under motor vehicle insurance. The first is a “first party” claim where you make a claim against your own insurance company under your collision coverage. These claims are made when you or someone driving you vehicle is at fault. The second type of claim is a liability claim, when you are making a claim against someone else’s insurance because they are at fault. Diminished value claims in Virginia only apply to liability claims, when the vehicle damage was caused by someone else’s negligence, and not to first party “collision” claims, when the damage results from the owner’s fault or someone the owner allows to drive the vehicle. 4

Most insurance carriers doing business in Virginia are aware of “Diminution of Value” claims and regularly negotiate these claims when presented by the party whose auto has been extensively damaged by the negligence of the carrier’s insured (usually their policyholder). Keep in mind the insurance company normally will not voluntarily solicit a diminished value claim but, when confronted with the proper documentation, they will consider it. Proper documentation includes:
1. Photographs of damages
2. Photographs after repairs
3. Written appraisal, after repairs, documenting the condition of the vehicle and “loss of value” (this is the difference in market value prior to accident and after repairs to vehicle), by a qualified appraiser. 5

Although the appraiser will assign a specific dollar amount to the diminished value, the majority of insurance companies conducting business in the state of Virginia will want to negotiate. To be in the best bargaining position, you should get an appraiser who has the best credentials to appraise the diminished value for your specific vehicle, as that person will have the most credibility with the insurance company.

About the Author: Bob Mertig is a claims consultant working under the supervision of Petersburg accident attorney Paul Hux. Bob assists clients in resolving their personal injury claims.