The Perfect Investigation Part I, by John Rose
As the greatest investigator in the world you can remember your early childhood when wild Indians took you from the wagon train and memories of boyhood conversations with their old Indian Chief have been of great value to you in your effort to accomplish the impossible, "Conduct the Perfect Investigation," The Chief's words of wisdom heard around the campfire seem to haunt your memory - What did he say?
Millions of auto accidents are investigated every year by investigators in various phases of their investigative development. By the use of good judgment and common sense, investigators get the job accomplished one way or another; however, there are times when the attorney must request return trips for additional photographs, statements, or additional effort to locate witnesses. How to avoid those extra trips...yep, you remember hearing that around the campfire...and a good reason for this article!
There are times when the investigator isn't allowed to conduct a professional investigation. The attorney will tell you to take one statement and return to the office. If that statement isn't screwed up too badly, you will be allowed to return to photograph the scene and so on. Then there is the attorney who will tell you to conduct the investigation but don't spend over 100 bucks. Don't criticize too quickly, they have worked with so many mental midgets that a real investigator may scare them to death!
The simple investigation or those the investigator feels are routine are the ones lost in court because the other side did not accept the file as being "routine." The "routine" auto accident never happened. Opposing counsel laughs all the way to the bank when you get caught up in what appears to be a routine investigation. This is easy to do when working ten or more investigations a week. When all the photographs are taken, all the witnesses located, interviewed, and all the reports are in the file, these "Fender Bender" investigations seem to run together and the work can become "routine." The investigator who gets lulled into complacency in regard to any investigation is headed for a fall, and the "Fender Bender" is one area where the professional must personify vigilance in the pursuit of a winning file.
The key to success: Make sure you are looking at each job on the merit of that investigation, eliminating any thought of accepting similarities of one job as fact when working another. You may find twenty seven consecutive sets of similar circumstances surrounding twenty seven different accident investigations and develop all the facts in a similar manner; however, the next file will appear to be congruent to all 27 of the prior files...then you wake up in court too late! Remember that old Indian phrase, "Great Investigators Never Allow Their Work To Become Routine."
When starting the "Fender Bender" or any investigation, always start at the beginning, with the client. Doesn't matter if the client is an attorney whom you work with regularly or the first job for an old Indian. The investigation should always start with the client. If there is a file, glean all the information possible from that file, then ask all the relevant questions: Who else has investigated this accident? Where can I get that report? Etc...Use that wisdom you learned around the campfire!
Too many times the attorney will call providing a few simple instructions such as pick up the police report, statementize witnesses, etc. The investigator never reviews a file or gets the opportunity to ask "real" questions, but the professional investigator will generally pull another magical act, develop all or most of the witnesses and keep the client happy.
The "form" of the professional will result in many winning files, simply because all the bases were covered leaving no room for error. In every phase of your investigations, occasionally stop! After photographing the accident scene, ask yourself, "Have I photographed everything?" Once more this is truly an area of expertise where you should develop a professional "form" because photographs can win for you in court but remember the photograph will be worthless unless you can get it entered into a court of law as evidence. And don't forget to photograph your client's vehicle. Do not photograph only the damaged areas, photographically record all four sides of each vehicle; oblique shots and direct view photo of the damage, both exterior and interior including anything that "could have' contributed to the accident, whiskey bottles or beer caps on the floor, and items that could block the driver's view such as dice or other items hanging around the rearview mirror. In some instances, you will photograph the tread on all four tires and the mileage as recorded on the speedometer. And never send, show or allow a client to see a poorly taken or developed photograph. If the picture does not clearly show the desired image, throw it into the round file and do it again. When reporting, remember the old Chief's words, "Grandmaw takes pictures. Investigators take photographs.
If conditions allow the opportunity to examine both vehicles, do so. Examine your client's vehicle exactly the same as the opposition; is everything working, brakes, lights, turn signals, wipers, horn, etc? Never touch or physically examine any item or vehicle owned by the opposition without permission. That doesn't mean you can't take a picture, but do not trespass. Good advice even if not words of wisdom from an old Indian Chief!
The Perfect Investigation Part II, by John Rose
After reviewing the police report (which may happen in your part of the world, but here the police do not investigate that many accidents), ask yourself, "Have I interviewed all the witnesses?" "Or do I just think I have interviewed all the witnesses?" Talk with the officer or officers that were at the scene, remember their agenda is not the same or even close to yours. Officers see and hear many things that are not written in their little notebook, be persistent...ask more and more questions.
There are many items that will appear on your professional "form" when conducting any investigation and "records" could have a direct bearing on the cause, or contain information directly relating to the accident. In the "Fender Bender", police report, ambulance, wrecker, fire department, street department, City, County, or State engineering, court and other records. These different departments will not pay a role in each and every investigation; however, from time to time a fact contained somewhere in one of these files will help in producing a winning file. Is the street engineering department guilty of contributing to this accident? If the accident happened at night, what about lighting? How many accidents have been recorded at this same location? What information do the court records contain on both drivers? Think, the Chief said what?
When interviewing witnesses, do not forget to take formal statements from "witnesses" who deny knowing or seeing anything and the same for the liar. Get those lies or lack of knowledge in print and with a signature if possible. These uninformed witnesses have been known to reappear at time of trial to testify to some extremely damaging facts and, unless you are able to impeach, that lie becomes fact when presented as testimony. Take the time, recording each witness' statement that nothing was seen or heard and record all the liar's allegations. By taking these statements you will be less likely to be surprised later in court.
Your professional "form" for interviewing witnesses should contain a system of interviewing that will avoid mistakes or missed answers to questions that were not asked. The best way to avoid this is by starting every interview with an outline. That outline will contain all the basic or relevant questions based on the facts that have been provided to you at that point. Once the witness is qualified, the first question from the outline is asked and at that point your mind should take on the role of a computer scanning the words, who, what, when, where, why and how rapidly across your mind.
Example: Question - "Where, exactly, were you standing when you first heard the tire noise?
Answer - "Ted and I were standing in front of the Dairy Queen."
The next and obvious question is not on the outline -"Who is Ted?"
And that answer will more than likely produce another question not on the outline. Each answer should change the outline several times - but without these questions your statement will be lacking, and you will be making call backs.
As an investigator, you will listen to thoughts, feelings and opinions - but, hopefully, you will avoid their use and never place them in any report, unless reported under the title "OPINIONS" in a professional report of investigation. The attorney will want your opinion in regard to the evaluation of each witness, and that is one of the few times any opinion is desired in a report.
Each and every investigation eventually reaches a point of conclusion. When all the rocks have been turned over and all the snakes killed, the investigator re-examines each phase to make sure there are no loose ends. Satisfied with the final results, you wrap all the facts up neatly in a bundle of professional words... "Report Of Investigation." To add icing on your cake of dreams, the client calls to compliment you on a great job with "Fender Bender XYZ."
You feel great, you have just completed the perfect investigation. You sit back, relax, and place your hands behind your head, dreaming about some sandy beach in the sun.
...The telephone rings!..."Hello, Greatest Investigator in the World."
"Hi, my name is Joe, ... you know that Fender Bender XYZ ... well, I was a passenger in the yellow car ... why didn't you talk with me? I know ....!"
Suddenly the words of that old Indian Chief are extremely clear, those words of wisdom spoken years ago around the campfire and heard through a fog of smoke from burning Mesquite and dried Buffalo chips ....
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A PERFECT INVESTIGATION, ONLY WINNERS AND LOSERS!