If you’ve been hurt in an automobile accident in Lutz or a nearby Florida community, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, provided you can prove that the driver of the other vehicle was at fault in the accident.
Up until recently, plaintiffs had to depend mainly on potentially inaccurate eye- witness accounts or police reports filed many hours or even days after an accident to prove their case. Recent advances in technology, such as the automobile event data recorder, or “black box,” installed in many new cars and trucks, now make it easier for plaintiffs who have been injured in an auto accident to prove their case.
What is a Black Box?
When an airliner goes down and lives are lost, one of the most important tasks is recovering the aircraft’s “black box” — a device that records important information about the plane’s speed, direction, altitude, etc. — to provide investigators with insights into what caused the crash.
Newer model cars and trucks often come factory equipped with their own black boxes. Not only that, a growing number of insurance companies are giving discounts to drivers who install similar devices on their cars to provide proof that they are safe drivers. Similar to their aircraft counterparts, some of the important data that can be captured by an automobile black box during an accident includes:
- Date
- Time
- Speed
- Braking activity
- G-forces during an impact
- Seatbelt use
A black box event recorder can provide a highly accurate and detailed history of a crash.
This information is important when it comes to determining who was negligent in an auto accident and how much liability, if any, the plaintiff shares for the accident. It’s especially handy in situations where the other driver refuses to accept liability for the accident. It can reveal what speed a car was travelling at the time of the accident, if a driver failed to apply their brakes in time to prevent the accident or when an accident took place. It is difficult to dispute the data captured by a black box recorder. The data can also be used by manufacturers to make their cars safer after an accident.
In some instances, this technology can work against you as the black box can disprove your statements, which could serve to call your credibility into question.
Take Action ASAP
After an accident, time is of the essence. The first thing to do after your accident is to seek medical attention. The next, hire a personal injury attorney like Tania Rivas, who has extensive experience in representing clients injured in auto accidents.
It’s important to act as soon as possible to record and collect as much of a crash scene’s evidence as possible while the scene is still fresh. This includes recovering any information stored on a black box or other event recording device in either vehicle. Tania and her staff have the expertise and resources to gather the evidence that will be needed to prove your case and obtain the maximum amount of compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Tania Rivas and Rivas Law Group have helped hundreds of clients in Lakeland, Lutz, Winter Haven and other central Florida communities who have been injured in an automobile accident that was the fault of another driver. She is dedicated to protecting the rights of the injured and fights tirelessly to get them the compensation they deserve for their pain and economic losses.
If you’ve been injured in a Central Florida auto accident, contact Rivas Law Group to discuss your case. Most personal injury cases are handled on a contingency basis, which means there are no upfront charges to our clients and we only collect our fee after we obtain your settlement.
