When The Cops Get It Wrong; Investigating Your Client's Case
The above video is somewhat tangential to this week's Bulletin topic but it does describe a trend that will certainly be used and useful in future vehicular accidents - the car black box. For our below article, however, we stick to old fashioned ground pounding to uncover the true facts of a real accident puzzler.
Generally, most private investigators enjoy and prefer to maintain, good relationships with law enforcement; especially considering that the majority of us come from an l.e. background. Regardless of current or past affiliations, however, a good investigator is a fact-finder first.
We recently ran into a quirky situation involving the police with a hit and run of a pedestrian in mid Manhattan. The actions of law enforcement from the date and time of the accident to this day are puzzling.
A male pedestrian was struck, while crossing the roadway, traveling with the light and within the crosswalk, by first a bus and then a Jeep. A large crowd gathered. The pedestrian suffered severely crushed legs - injuries consistent with being struck by two vehicles back to back. The bus took off (hence the hit and run designation) but the Jeep and its driver remained on scene - for a while. The Jeep driver was questioned by police and told to leave the scene as there was no eyewitness to the Jeep having struck the pedestrian. And no note of the plate number was made by police on the scene.
The first place to start is the precinct of jurisdiction. Pick up the Police Accident Report (the PAR). A PAR is sequentially numbered so its number should fall into place around the date of accident. The PAR should contain def. vehicle, driver and witness information. This PAR contained none of those and the matter was simply designated a "Hit and Run".
Our investigators felt there had to be more to the story than a simple leaving the scene. This is a residential area of Manhattan, with all of those people moving about their daily lives, someone had to have seen something.
We decided to make a flyer of the victim's case (the victim and attorney's permission of course). We Photoshopped the victim's photo into a flyer we distributed liberally throughout the neighborhood. Literally, within 18 hours, we had a video of the victim being struck by a bus and email giving us the Jeep's plate number. The victim's attorneys are now processing the claim with this information.
I guess it all comes down to something I have said to each BNI investigator, regardless of experience - know the rules but always trust your gut instinct. It will lead you to where you need to go. The function of a good investigator is to find the facts that will help with victim, even if the odds are stacked against recovering this information.
Luckily, our marketing strategy doesn’t need to be used in the above video but sometimes it’s the simple things that elude us in coming up with an effective yet cost-efficient marketing plan for our business. If you practice personal injury law, we recommend the following visibility heightener to increase word-of-mouth regarding your firm.
Instead of standard business cards, distribute postcards to potential clients (with the suggestion to give them out liberally to friends and family as well) and arrange to have them prominently displayed in participating doctors’ offices, physical therapy and rehab centers.
Not just your typical postcard. This post card should have the firm’s information (of course) but also a To do List in case of an accident. We’ve prepared copy for you:
If you are involved in an accident:
Call 911. Take pictures immediately. Do not admit liability.
We'll say up front and repeat it the end of this Bulletin. Be careful driving - particularly on New Year's Eve when the roads are crowded with people driving too and from parties. (To lighten up the mood of this message, and since we've all viewed real accident videos, the above clip is of a Hollywood staged accident. Short but with some interesting mini-scenes.)
If the unfortunate occurs and you are involved in a vehicular accident, remember to take the below steps:
Medical care:
First, check yourself for injuries. Then, if you are CPR certified, attempt to determine if any other vehicle occupants, involved pedestrians... need your help.
Once everyone wellbeing has been accounted for;
Get information (especially important for a potential insurance claim).
The other driver's name, address, driver's license number, insurance information, and license plate number (check the plate's issuing state too).
If there are witnesses, get their names, addresses, and telephone numbers. (Make sure this information. E.g. not just a first name. Cases take time to resolve, people move...
Ask for a business card from the police officer who investigated the traffic scene. Also get the "incident number" so that you can obtain an accident report. Most officers will provide you with the information even if you don't ask.
Take note of the location—the road conditions, speed limits, traffic control devices, any ongoing construction or large debris, the weather, and the lighting. (Try to remember to always keep a disposable camera in the glove compartment. Nothing conveys the accident scene as well as an immediate on-site photographs).
Take note of how the accident happened.
It is important to note the direction and rate of travel of the vehicles involved, and what the cars are doing at the time of the accident.
Never admit liability.
Even if you believe you are at fault, do not admit liability. There may be other factors which you don't know that may turn the fault to the other driver. Do not make statements, on print or tape, to anybody at the accident scene, except for the police. Nevertheless, when speaking to the police, tell them only the facts of what happened. Let them make their own conclusion from the facts.
Seek medical care.
See a doctor. This is to eliminate the probability of the inability to obtain "no fault" benefits for your injuries. There are statutes in every state pertaining to what the insurance can cover. If you do not see a doctor, you might find later on that the insurance company or the other driver involved in the accident argue that your injuries were not related to the accident. In addition, the "adrenaline rush" from the accident can mask symptoms, which a physical examination can otherwise reveal.
Tell the doctor your symptoms--- any loss of memory, headache, blood or fluid in the ear, dizziness, disorientation, ringing in the ears, nausea, confusion, or any other unusual physical or mental feeling.
Above and beyond all, we wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year - just remember to take extra care while driving the next several days.
Finders Keepers: Securing Witness Contact Information
From an investigator's perspective, few things can be as frustrating as trying to locate a witness a year or more post-accident.
Having conducted innumerable first contact/initial intake surveys, it is our experience that it is critical to obtain as much information on potential witnesses as early on as possible. And. to then immediately reach out to those witnesses and obtain additional contact information. Often, the starting point of any file (once the retainer is secured) is the police accident report - PAR. (For the purpose of maintaining a tight focus, and as the information is applicable to other agencies and incident types as well, we will concentrate on police department PARs) A PAR's witness information content varies from agency to agency, county to county and even intra-department. An NYPD officer may be thorough and include the witness' name and address in the PAR's witness information section. A Yonkers cop may simply jot down the witness' name and address or phone number in the body of the accident description. Outside of the occasional NYPD officer or State Trooper, there is usually no witness identification verification conducted on scene.
In any case, your firm initially has only the PAR or any info that your client may provide regarding the witness(es). A simple phone call or contact letter within a week or so of accepting a case may not only secure contact information, it begins to establish an association between the witness and your client and can facilitate cooperation down the line.
Understandably, until the issues of accident/incident circumstances, injuries, liability and potential defendants are developed, a law firm may not wish to expend additional energy or monies on non-critical activity. Our experience, however, leans us towards an ounce of prevention when it comes to securing witness information. In an increasingly mobile/transient world, more information is not only better, but necessary. A phone call or contact letter requesting additional info (such as an emergency contact, email, employer info...) can often make the difference later on in obtaining a witness statement... or not. Done correctly, this witness outreach may a) induce the witness to become a more cooperative part of the process, b) begin to imprint a more solid recall of events should testimony become necessary and c) provide additional future contact avenues.
Talking To The Most Important Cop At The Precinct - The TSO
For personal injury attorneys, generally, the most important cop at any precinct is the TSO - the Traffic Safety Officer.
Data for New York City indicates that 26.7 percent of total statewide annual traffic fatalities, and 43 percent of total statewide crash injuries occurred within city limits. In an effort to reduce fatalities, injuries, property damage and overall costs associated with motor vehicle crashes in New York City, the New York Police Department (NYPD) developed TrafficStat in 1998. Modeled after the highly successful crime-reducing system, CompStat, the objectives of the NYPD's TrafficStat program are to:
A - Identify locations throughout the city where crashes are most likely to occur
B - Design an effective crash analysis program to determine the primary factors that contribute to traffic crashes at these locations
C - Develop effective countermeasures to correct hazardous conditions
D - Implement a public information and education campaign, to help the public avoid traffic dangers and crash risks.
The first step though, in any accident investigation, especially one suspected of having occurred in an accident -prone location is to talk to the local precinct's Traffic Safety Officer (TSO). The TSO generally has more direct knowledge and information regarding the precinct's traffic "hot spots" than any other officer assigned to that specific house. We also suggest calling before 2 p.m., weekdays, regardless of the PD or precinct involved.
Below please find the direct phone numbers to the Queens NYPD TSOs (except where so noted, wherein the main precinct number is then provided). (For Albany PD, the main TSO's number is 518/458-5676.) (Also let us know if you would like TSO info from other boroughs.)
In any lawsuit involving an MVA, one of the the most important initial tools required is the accident report. A completed MV-104A New York State Department of Motor Vehicles POLICE ACCIDENT REPORT (PAR) establishes that a) an accident did in fact occur, b) your client was somehow involved in said accident and c) the factors involved in your client's MVA. It is important for the trial professional to also have the ability, via an "answer sheet", to decode the responding officer's notes on the PAR.
The police lingo for this answer sheet is "flysheet". One simply aligns the category numbers to the correspondingly numbered areas on the actual report and from there decodes the reporting officer' handwritten digits. In the bottom right of the attached flysheet, you will note the words "Cover Sheet" and a white space below that. Generally, that space contains a letter (NYS is currently up to the letter "O") which refers to the model number of the answer sheet. The flysheet is usually only upgraded if a substantial change or category addition is required to the accident report itself. The MV-104 form is used by all New York State agencies authorized to prepare an accident report.
Odds are, if you drive a car, you will get into at least one accident in your life time. While there certainly is no prep course on what to do should an accident occur, our years of accident reconstruction and investigation background have led us to compile the below instructions/suggestions:
1. Always maintain your insurance card and vehicle registration in the same place in your car. It’ll simply be reflex then to locate it in the aftermath of an accident. (It would also be smart to have a zoom disposable camera with flash in your glove compartment.)
2. Remain calm. If injured remain in a comfortable position in your vehicle (if it is safe to do so).
3. Call or have someone call 911 immediately.
4. Do not make any comments as to fault or factors that may have caused the accident.
5. Record the time, date and location of the accident.
6. List the people in all involved vehicles.
7. If you are able to, take photos of the accident scene and any damage to vehicles and noticeable injuries to people. (Note: In photographing the accident scene: record any skid marks or tire gouges left on the roadway. These marks go a long way in determining speed. Also, note all traffic signals/markers in the area such as traffic lights, stop signs, pedestrian crosswalks, pedestrian Walk Signals, medians… present.)
8. While recording the defendant vehicle’s license plate, as well as the driver’s license, registration and insurance card, take photos of these documents as well. Also note the car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The VIN can usually be seen on the car’s dashboard, through the lower left side (driver’s side) of the windshield. In taking a photo of the VIN, disable the camera’s flash as that additional light may blank the photo.
9. Again, other than inquiring into the defendant(s) health, do not become engage in any “fault” conversation but be aware of any conditions that you feel may have been a factor in the accident (e.g. sun glare, malfunctioning traffic signal, excessive weather conditions…).
10. When you are able, report the accident to your insurance company.
11. The time to seek a personal injury attorney is before an accident occurs. Have several contact names and numbers available from recommendations from friends or family that have experienced this situation. One doesn’t want to be interviewing for a legal representative in an emotionally and physically exhausted state.
