The use of black box or event data recorder in late model cars is becoming a hot topic in criminal and civil litigation. More police are using black boxes to help solve traffic crimes. In Virginia, police officers are routinely downloading this information, when necessary to help figure out what happened in a fatality crash. The police department in Norfolk, for instance, has the technology and know how to download this information in about 5 minutes. Typically, this will tell the speed and direction of the driver at the time of the wreck. Some black boxes provide even more information, including seatbelt usage, whether airbags deployed and other information.
As a result of privacy concerns, a law was passed in Virginia which declares the data the private property of the car owner. Theoretically under this law in Virginia, an insurance company cannot require you to produce the data to them and cannot make any insurance decisions based upon such refusal. However, the law is so new that it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Our law firm has been experienced in dealing with event data recorders because they are standard operating equipment on the engines of the major railroads such as Norfolk Southern and CSX. One thing about event data recorders in litigation is the question of whether the information can be manipulated. For example, railroad’s event data recorders require certain inputs to extract the information. Variables such as the size of the wheels on the engine can make a difference in the speed that the event data information spits out. Lots of time and energy goes into analyzing and potentially challenging event data recorder information in the context of train wrecks and crossing accidents.
The use in car wreck cases is a bit newer. I am trying to make sure to ask for such information on all cases in the event that it is helpful to my client. There are many situations where having this technology in the defendant’s car will help us prove fault in what previously would have been a he said/she said type case. Stay tuned.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
Comments for this article are closed.