A few years ago, if you were in a car accident, the only option you had was to call the police, then try to contact your insurance agent after filing a police report. If there was an injury involved, the process was even more tedious.
Trying to get your medical bills paid and collecting compensation for pain and suffering was equally as difficult. In fact, it may have taken months or even years before you received any sort of compensation. Furthermore, if the other party involved in the accident had no liability insurance, you would be hard-pressed to find any settlement whatsoever. Thankfully, that’s not the case anymore. Not only has technology provided us with a way to communicate with our loved ones from virtually anywhere in the world; it has also changed how personal injury cases are handled. To learn more about personal injury, you can get more info here.
In this blog post, we will take a look at how technology is impacting car accident cases so that you can be aware of what is happening during your personal injury case. We will also take a look at some of the benefits that technology has provided us.
Technology and Car Accident
Whether you are a car accident victim or in the business of representing clients who have been injured in car accidents, technology is opening up a whole new world of information and opportunities to learn more about the people involved in the accident.
Trial lawyers, insurance companies, and victims have always used technology to assist with investigations into auto accidents. However, the tools available today are more advanced than in past years. Using simple apps on your smartphone or GPS devices in your vehicle, you can gather useful data when you are involved in an accident.
Some of these tools include:
- Dash Cams
Dash cams are one of the fastest-growing technological innovations in the automotive industry. In short, dash cams are devices that can be installed in your vehicle to record video while you’re driving.
Tape doesn’t lie and can help hold the other party accountable for their actions on the road. Dashcams also tell the truth about road conditions, weather, and the speed of your vehicle. They are a great way to protect you, your family, and your assets.
- Global Positioning System (GPS)
GPS is a system that uses satellites around the globe to pinpoint a person’s location on Earth by their longitude and latitude coordinates. GPS makes it possible to track a person’s exact location at any given time.
Many cars are now equipped with GPS devices that can record the speed at which someone was traveling, how far they drove and when they stopped. These devices can even detect sudden stops, hard accelerations, and turns.
- Crash and Accident Data from Your Smartphone
An app from CrashIQ allows you to record information related to any car crash that you are involved in. This app records speed, braking, collision location and direction, weather conditions, road conditions, and other data points. The data is automatically sent to your attorney or insurance company once you complete the form included with the app. This data can also be saved on your phone for future use if you need to send it later. GPS tracking systems are also available for purchase at many retail stores for about $50-$70.
These devices can do more than just measure speed-they can prove exactly where you were at a given time relative to another car.
The Negative Impact of Smartphones on Car Accidents
The first thing to note is that there is so much information available at our fingertips when it comes to how smartphones can impact car accident cases. For example, one study found that 80% of all people who were involved in an accident admitted to either checking their phones or texting during the trip immediately before their accident occurred. This means that there is evidence on your device that your own negligence likely caused an accident.
How Technology Has Helped Car Accident Cases
Online investigations are becoming prevalent nowadays. Most insurance companies no longer require an injured person to submit a liability release form before beginning an investigation of a case. They simply enter the information into their databases and begin searching for information. The same is true of law enforcement agencies. This means that investigators can now conduct online searches at any time in order to find out more information about any evidence or witnesses. In some cases, this can cut down on the length and cost of a case by eliminating unnecessary interviews or interrogatories. The Internet allows investigators to identify witnesses who have previously given statements that were not recorded or who have even refused to give statements altogether.
If you are involved in a car accident, you need an attorney who is comfortable using technology in order to ensure that your rights and your interests are protected throughout the entire legal process.
How These Technology is helping Your Legal Team
With the help of technology, we are now able to bring forth our arguments in a better way, which helps us win the case and helps us save time and resources. With the help of technology, you can gather preliminary data used as evidence. With new and advanced technologies, we are now having more information regarding a situation that is why we can gather more details about the accident, thus helping us develop a strong argument.
