The Baer Law Firm Prevails in a Contested Liability Automobile Wreck Using Video and Forensic Evidence

In some cases, the investigating officers just get it wrong. When a driver is so massively injured that he/she is unable to tell his/her side of the story to the police, there is an even greater chance of the officer faulting the wrong driver for the wreck. This is exactly what happened to a young man who was hit while attempting to make a left turn. Because he was deemed at fault for the wreck, numerous lawyers, including most of those seen advertising on TV and radio, would not take his case. The Baer Law Firm took the case and prevailed.

Our client was attempting to make a left turn from the middle turn lane of a busy five-lane road. Traffic appeared clear for the man to turn left.  As he was almost finished with the turn, he was crushed by a BMW traveling straight in the right-most lane. Below is a photo of our client’s vehicle following the collision.

Our client suffered massive head and facial injuries as a result of this wreck and was rushed by ambulance to a nearby trauma hospital. Suffice it to say, he was not able to coherently give his version of what happened to the investigating officers. Because a driver turning left has a duty to yield to oncoming traffic, the officers faulted our client for the wreck.

The Baer Law Firm tracked down surveillance video from a nearby car dealership. The video captured the collision and showed the BMW, which appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed. It also showed a red van in the left lane that would have blocked our client’s view of the BMW the moment our client began to turn. Since our client had plenty of clearance between his vehicle and the red van (which was traveling the speed limit), it was entirely reasonable for our client to begin the left turn. As our client was making the turn, the video showed the BMW overtaking the van and then crashing into our client’s car.

We also hired a forensic investigator to go to the tow yard and capture the speed of the BMW. It showed the BMW doing 70+ in a 45-mph zone – 25 mph OVER the speed limit. Thus, we were able to prove the sole cause of this wreck was speeding by the other driver. Our client was not at fault. Once we presented this evidence, the insurer for the BMW, which had previously denied its insured was at fault, had no choice but to pay its policy limits to our client.

The Baer Law Firm prevailed in this case because we have the time and resources to focus on the facts of each case we accept. We do not accept every clear liability case that comes in the door. We focus on cases in which our clients have suffered potentially life-altering and catastrophic injuries. By focusing on severe injury and medical malpractice cases, we are able to perform the legwork to prove our clients’ cases and obtain meaningful recoveries.

Bryan Baer

Attorney Bryan Baer has twenty (20) years of legal experience representing clients in serious and catastrophic personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He has been first chair in more than a dozen twelve-person jury trials on both the plaintiff and defense sides. Recognized as a leader in his legal community, he is frequently asked to speak at legal seminars on trial topics ranging from “Best Practices in Voire Dire” to “Maximizing Damages at Trial” as well as insurance issues such as “Navigating the Insurance Landscape” and “Injury Demands & Negotiations.” Learn more here.