Patent ID: 8000985

Claim:
A method of estimating liability for a real accident being considered for liability assessment, comprising: providing a computer system configured to access a memory, wherein the memory comprises sets of characteristics of two or more past or theoretical accidents, wherein the past accidents are accidents that occurred in the past other than the real accident being considered for liability assessment, and wherein at least one characteristic in the sets of characteristics is a roadway configuration, and wherein the memory further comprises an estimated liability for two or more of the past or theoretical accidents; displaying the roadway configuration as a graphical image in a graphical user interface; selecting a graphical image of a roadway configuration corresponding to a roadway configuration of the real accident being considered for liability assessment; determining a roadway configuration among the two or more past or theoretical accidents that most nearly matches the selected roadway configuration of the real accident being considered for liability assessment; and determining an estimate of liability for the real accident being considered for liability assessment, wherein the estimated liability is based, at least in part, on the liability for a past or theoretical accident corresponding to the determined matching roadway configuration.