Single car accidents seem to result in more fatalities than other types of accidents, so, generally, we can't ask the driver what happened. We reconstruct the accident by looking at witness marks on the wrecked vehicle, physical marks on the road, and pieces of evidence that must be collected quickly after a wreck to avoid their loss. If days and weeks pass, they can be lost, so early, careful investigation is essential.
Often, single car accidents are caused by product liability defects. Badly manufactured tires that de-tread, seatbelts that don't work, door latches that fail when they shouldn't, and roofs that collapse and intrude into the occupant space. These are typically design or manufacturing defects that cause serious injuries and deaths. Over eighty percent of the product liability claims I investigate are single vehicle accidents.
A red flag that usually tips families off to have an accident investigated pops up when the occupant receives injuries greater than would be expected from the severity of the wreck. One case that I remember so well is the death of a woman in her 40s from a fairly minor accident. Her car door popped open, and she was partially ejected, held in place only by her seatbelt. But she extended far enough outside the vehicle that when the car rotated from the impact against an obstacle, the open door slammed on her.
In a crash test later conducted by the manufacturer after I filed suit for the door latch failure, it tried to show that its latch would hold the door closed at the speed and angle at which the accident occurred. I inspected the crash test vehicle on hot asphalt under blazing summer sun outside Phoenix, because the manufacturer didn't want me to have the comfort of its air conditioned test facility a hundred feet away. Careful examination over some hours revealed that the test was conducted with the door being bolted to the adjacent B-pillar. The case settled highly in favor of my client, the driver's husband.
The moral of this story is this. When you hear of a single vehicle accident, don't assume that the driver caused the wreck or the injuries that occurred. Investigate, especially if the victim is your family member.
