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crashes

11.16.2015

Tennessee car crash case implicates state in construction of intersection

By Kyle Roby, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP At one time, a person injured by the negligence of a governmental entity was without a remedy, due to the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Basically a carryover from the English common law under which "the King could do no wrong," the doctrine precluded a would-be plaintiff from asserting what might otherwise have been a meritorious claim against a state or local government. Now, however, most governmental entities have consented to be sued through various tort claims acts. Such acts set forth the procedure for filing a claim, the statute of limitations, and the maximum damages that may be sought. It is important to note that, since such actions are purely statutory in nature, an injured person must strictly comply with all procedural requirements, or else his or her suit will likely be dismissed. Even when all requirements are met, it is ultimately up to the courts to determine whether a particular claim is valid. Read More

11.03.2015

Using drones in accident reconstruction cases

By Kyle Roby Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Drones can get bird's eye view of a roadway like nothing else can. Telling a story about an event is one thing. But it's so much more powerful when you can show what happened. That's the job of accident reconstructionists, and their work is extremely important in helping juries and judges understand how, exactly, a crash occurred. Accident re-constructionists now have a new tool available that has been a game-changer for showing what happened: drones. If you aren't familiar with drones, these are remote-powered cameras that fly. They're lightweight and powerful, and can take both video and still photos, and they're becoming very popular as they've come down in price. The drones can get a view of a roadway like nothing else can. Drones can show exactly how an intersection comes together from many angles, including from directly above and from all sides. With video footage and still photos from a drone, accident re-constructionists can create an animation of how vehicles crashed together on a roadway. The footage a drone shoots can also be rendered into CAD drawings that contain complete information on measurements, scale, size of vehicles and other scientific information that helps court officials properly review a case. Read More