Personal injury lawyers in Raleigh, NC, Charlotte, NC, Winston Salem, NC, and other large cities are often confronted with the need to offer police officer testimony in civil negligence trials.   For most accident attorneys, the primary issue is whether the officer who prepared the police report will be able to offer opinions concerning how the accident happened, and which driver was at fault for the underlying collision.

The analysis begins with the general rule that in a typical injury trial, the police officer would not be qualified as an expert in accident reconstruction.  Many N.C. State Troopers have been trained in the science of accident reconstruction, and they have had specific courses and testing on speed calculation forumulas, collision reconstruction models, use of computer models for collision forensic investigation, and use of other tools utilized by engineers who handle forensic crash reconstruction as a career specialty.  Howeve, unless the investigating officer has specific experience and training in the field of accident reconstruction, the officer would NOT be allowed to offer opinion testimony concerning how the collision occurred, the speed and direction of travel of vehicles, or opinions about fault or driver error. 

If a personal injury attorney is preparing a case for trial and liability is contested, it is helpful to have a qualified expert prepared to testify at trial.  The value of a trial "expert" is that he/she can provide opinions, rather than just bare facts about what was observed at the accident scene.  A non-expert officer can only testify about the measurements taken and the actual scene conditions and vehicle positions observed.  While this is often helpful, the "expert" officer can go beyond the bare facts and provide opinions about the accident facts including speed estimates, driver error opinions, etc.

One example of a North Carolina court case where opinion evidence was allowed is the case of State v. Holland, 150 N.C. App 457 (2002).  In that case, the court agreed that the officer was qualified to testify as an "expert" in the field of accident reconstruction because the trooper was a 16-year veteran who had investigated 2,500 accidents and conducted over 30 accident reconstructions.  Thus, the officer was allowed under N.C. Rule of Evidence 702 to offer opinions at trial.  An expert in accident reconstruction and traffic enginnering is qualfied to give a trial opinion both as to proximate cause and whether the defendant (at-fault driver) was in violation of any state traffic laws.  State v. Moore, 107 N.C. App. 388 (1992). 

For information about North Carolina car accident cases and personal injury law, contact the injury lawyers at Nagle & Associates, P.A.   Raleigh, NC injury lawyer Carl Nagle is a former insurance adjuster and former insurance defense lawyer.  He and his firm now work only for victims of North Carolina motor vehicle accidents.  For immediate advice from an experienced N.C. personal injury attorney, call toll free (800) 411-1583 or visit www.naglefirm.com.