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Police officers investigate crashes and charge at-fault drivers for causing them. It’s part of the job.
And police accident reports are often a key part of convincing an insurance adjuster the crash wasn’t your fault, paving the way to a personal injury settlement.
In South Carolina, officers don’t necessarily get to testify in court about the cause of the crash. In a 2019 decision, South Carolina’s highest court gave the reasons for this shocking rule.
Don’t suffer in silence if you’re wondering about your rights or how you’ll get a settlement. Get your questions answered in a free*, no pressure strategy session with a Spartanburg, SC car and motorcycle accident attorney. Call toll free at (864) 582-0416 or fill out a Get Help Now form.
The ruling came from an appeal from a felony DUI conviction in a case called Hamrick v. State. To win the case, in addition to proving the suspect drove intoxicated and seriously hurt the victim, the State basically had to prove the suspect drove carelessly.
To do that, the State attempted to present the testimony of the investigating officer to show the suspect hit the victim, a road construction worker, in a construction zone that vehicles can’t legally drive through.
Because the officer didn’t witness the accident, testifying about the point of impact was his opinion. Legally, before he could give an opinion about that, the officer had to be qualified as an expert by the judge.
That’s where the shock comes in. The South Carolina Supreme Court decided he wasn’t an expert.
Have you been injured in a car accident and are worried your situation is too complicated? Call us at (864) 582-0416 or fill out a contact form to request case review with our Spartanburg accident attorneys.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court pointed out the standard for being named an expert under Rule 702 of the South Carolina Rules of Evidence. It requires “knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.”
The State needed the officer qualified as an expert in accident reconstruction. The Court revealed how rigorous that standard can be:
Accident reconstruction is a highly technical and specialized field in which experts employ principles of engineering, physics, and other knowledge to formulate opinions as to the movements and interactions of vehicles and people, under circumstances laypeople—even trained officers—simply cannot understand.
The Court ruled the officer didn’t meet the standard because be only took a few courses on the subject over several years.
Interesting note: I have to wonder if the officer could have qualified as an expert if he were a member of the Highway Patrol MAIT team.
If you’ve been seriously hurt or lost a family member in a fatal crash, especially if it involves a tractor-trailer accident or a DUI driver, take the extra step to contact an experienced accident attorney. It’s the smart thing to do, even if you don’t want to.
You may need your own accident reconstructionist. We can help you find one. It’ll only cost you a little time to get your questions answered and could spare you a lifetime of regret.
You can download the FREE book we’ve written about crash cases. Feel free to call toll free at (864) 582-0416 or fill out a Get Help Now form. You should know what others say about us—check out the reviews on this website we don’t own.
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