If you have been injured in a car wreck, you may wondering whether your vehicle has a “black box” like you hear about following an airplane crash or trucking collision. Of course commercial vehicles have these systems, but whether your vehicle has such a box depends on the type of vehicle and its age. You may hear an adjuster refer to the black box as an ECM (electronic control module) or a EDR (event data recorder), or by other similar initials.  They aren’t always precisely the same thing, but they DO all collect data from vehicles, and can be very helpful following a car wreck. Back in 1994, General Motors began adding these boxes to their vehicles, and the rest of the automobile manufacturers now do as well. Since September 1, 2014, all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the United States were required by Federal law to have such a box. If you have a vehicle that’s older, a quick internet search or a call to the dealership for your vehicle can tell you if your vehicle has such an ECM, EDR, or other black box.

Black boxes can collect information about how fast a vehicle was going, how long it maintained that speed, whether its headlights were on, whether some systems were malfunctioning, and lots of other information which can potentially help your personal injury lawyer prove your case. The same information can, of course, be downloaded from the defendant’s vehicle, if their vehicle has such a box. Getting and interpreting this information is not easy, and needs to be done using the right equipment. This is because the information can be accidentally erased, or it can be misinterpreted. Trained mechanics and collision reconstruction experts are the best people to perform this work. Insurance companies already have those experts on their payroll, but they’re not there to help you with your car wreck claim: the insurance company’s experts want to find a way to deny or minimize your personal injury claim and property damage claims.

In a contributory negligence state like North Carolina, this information can be critical to proving, and saving, your case.  The personal injury attorneys at the Miller Law Group in Raleigh, North Carolina, have the right connections and experts to get to this information and help win your case. Not every case needs an expert to download this black box data, but if your case needs that help, it’s likely to be critical. The award-winning lawyers at the Miller Law Group have spent decades fighting insurance companies and handling personal injury claims for people just like you. Our lawyers help people, not insurance companies. If you need a personal injury lawyer in Raleigh, North Carolina, or in any of the surrounding areas (we have offices in Washington, D.C. and South Carolina, too) contact us for a free consultation. If we can help, then we’ll take your case on a contingency fee, which means we only get paid if we get you a recovery. Contact the Miller Law Group today.  We’ve got your back.