Thursday, October 14, 2010

Does there have to be a heavy impact with significant property damage to support heavy injury?

To me one of the biggest "red herrings " in the personal injury world is "was it a heavy impact, "was there heavy property damage"? The rationale behind these inquiries is if the impact is heavy, it is more likely that there was significant injury. Yes, and easier to sell to a jury. Plus, more likely a carrier will see it as "a real case ".
But at the end of the day, we all recognize that a person can sustain "heavy injuries " from a moderate impact too. Such factors as the host vehicle's speed, weight of the vehicles, slope of roadway, body position, plaintiff's location in the vehicle, prexisting injury, fixed objects within the vehicle and more...need I go on, are highly relevant.
Moral of the story; while property damage is certainly an important factor in all motor vehicle cases, it is not the sole factor!
Keep an open mind.

No comments:

Post a Comment