Opinion ID: 1632489
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Expert Testimony Regarding How Accident Occurred

Text: Dr. Oscar Griffith (Dr. Griffith), a professor of physics, testified at trial on behalf of Joshua Forbes as an expert in physics and accident reconstruction. Dr. Griffith stated that, in forming his opinions as to how the accident occurred, he reviewed the statements of the parties and the police diagram, and traveled to the accident site in 1998. At that time, the physical evidence of the accident was limited to the tire marks left on the roadway, Trooper Lanoux's measurements of the tire marks and a picture of the tire marks taken by Mr. Cockerham a week after the accident. Dr. Griffith noted that the first tire mark was located fairly close to the center line of the road and that it was his opinion that Mr. Cockerham executed an evasive maneuver of some kind just before the first tire mark was made. He stated: the car wasn't tracking directly ahead, by tracking I mean it wasn't traveling exactly in the direction it was pointed. I think it was canted a little bit to the direction that would be the counter-clockwise direction, that is, it would [cant] a little bit to [ sic ] toward the center line as it went off the road, not enough probably to make heavy yaw marks. And I think what the police officer saw was probably maybe a combination of brake marks and yaw marks or the steering effort. Vol. 8, p. 466. Significantly, Dr. Griffith testified that Mr. Cockerham's car was out of control before it made the first tire mark and was out of control as it headed off the roadway traveling 7 degrees off the road direction. Mr. Cockerham's car continued down the embankment in a straight line and began to roll over when it reached the ditch. However, he felt that trees kept the car from rolling over completely and, instead, the car ran into at least one tree, if not more. Dr. Griffith believed that when the car hit the tree(s), the passenger side of the car was sideswiped, causing removal of portions of the car's passenger side, and the top windshield post on the passenger side was smashed. Dr. Griffith estimated that Mr. Cockerham's car was traveling at a speed of 60 miles per hour when it made the first tire mark in the road, that the car was traveling at 51 miles per hour when the car left the roadway and that the car was traveling at 47 miles per hour when it impacted with the tree(s). Dr. Griffith testified that he believed that the significant factors contributing to this accident included the influence of potholes, the shoulder slope at the accident site and the location of the tree line. Dr. Griffith admitted that he did not consider Mr. Cockerham's actions while driving or whether Mr. Cockerham was intoxicated at the time of the accident in formulating this opinion. When asked about the pothole or patch in the roadway near the first tire mark, Dr. Griffith surmised that Mr. Cockerham may have perceived the patch as a hazard. Judging by the tire mark in close proximity, Dr. Griffith felt that Mr. Cockerham was not impaired and had a quick reaction time to the patch. However, Dr. Griffith admitted that the only basis he had for this supposition was that there was a tire mark near the patch; there was no other evidence to suggest that Mr. Cockerham was surprised by the patch in the road. Dr. Griffith admitted that the patch was predominantly in the northbound lane. Further, if the first tire mark was traced backward, he admitted the result suggested the possibility that Mr. Cockerham was driving in the oncoming northbound lane and that Mr. Cockerham was straightening out the preceding curve prior to the accident. Additionally, Dr. Griffith conceded that he did not think the patched pothole threw Mr. Cockerham's car out of control since Dr. Griffith estimated that a pothole would have to be at least three to three and one-half inches deep and eight feet long to effect the control of a car. Dr. Griffith also testified that he did not believe that the curve located just north of the accident site was a factor. Dr. Griffith testified that the shoulder slope at the accident site was steep with a measurement of 4.9 degrees within two feet of the road edge and 13.9 degrees for the next three feet. Dr. Griffith also measured the distance to the tree line which he calculated as 11.6 feet from the edge of roadway. Dr. Griffith was questioned about whether Mr. Cockerham could have traversed the slope or recovered the roadway had the shoulder slope been 3:1 or 4:1. [15] Dr. Griffith testified that with a 3:1 slope, a driver could bring his car to a stop on the slope. With a 4:1 slope, a driver could recover from leaving the roadway and return to the travel lane. However, in both instances, Dr. Griffith testified that traversing or recovering a car on a shoulder slope depended on the driver and the driver's steering and application of brakes. Dr. Griffith was also questioned about the effect an eight foot shoulder would have had on this accident. Dr. Griffith performed geometric calculations to determine that with an eight foot shoulder, Mr. Cockerham may have been able to bring his car to a stop without incident. However, in this scenario, Dr. Griffith assumed a flat shoulder without a slope and no influence of alcohol on the driver. Mr. Ric Robinette (Mr. Robinette), a mechanical engineer licensed in Louisiana, California, Colorado and Michigan, testified as an expert in accident reconstruction on behalf of the DOTD. In order to formulate an opinion, Mr. Robinette reviewed a topographical survey prepared by DOTD employee, Eric Lanier, as well as Trooper Lanoux's police reports; the depositions of Mr. Clary and Dr. Griffith, plaintiffs experts; and the depositions of John Boudreaux, Keith Cockerham, Joshua Forbes, Mr. Cockerham, Shane Blankenship, and Toby Scott. Mr. Robinette also examined the actual scene of the accident, any photographs made available to him by DOTD and Mr. Cockerham's car. In addition, Mr. Robinette requested that DOTD provide him with an aerial photograph of that portion of Highway 37 where the accident occurred and drove an exemplar 1993 Geo Storm to experience its steering and braking capabilities. Mr. Robinette testified that Mr. Cockerham had traveled only 1.6 miles from the store's parking lot until his car made the first skid mark. From his review of the that first skid mark, Mr. Robinette believed that Mr. Cockerham was in the opposing, northbound lane of the highway when he lost control of the car. Mr. Robinette testified that the first skid mark straddled the center line and partially extended into the northbound lane. Further, Mr. Robinette estimated that Mr. Cockerham was traveling at 73 to 77 miles per hour when the first skid mark was made and that it was at this point that Mr. Cockerham lost control of the car. Mr. Robinette testified that once Mr. Cockerham lost control of his car, the car began to rotate and that the straight-in skid marks were physical evidence of Mr. Cockerham's braking since his car was equipped with a proportioning valve and a differential pressure system. Mr. Robinette estimated that the car left the roadway surface at 37 to 42 degrees of rotation, relative to the road, traveling at somewhere in the upper 50s miles per hour, went into a 1/4 roll, hit a tree, righted itself as a result of the impact, hit additional trees (up to three more) and spun, sliding to rest. Mr. Robinette indicated that the car traveled 43 additional feet after hitting the first tree with the subsequent tree impacts scrubbing off speed. Mr. Robinette further indicated that Joshua Forbes was ejected from the car during the car's rotation subsequent to the impact of the car's roof with the tree and that Angela Simonson was ejected as the car came to rest near the tree as the right side of the car was torn off. Mr. Robinette testified that he felt that Mr. Cockerham's excessive speed and loss of control of his car caused the accident. Further, he believed that the patches in the roadway near the first skid mark were not contributing factors to Mr. Cockerham's loss of control. Mr. Robinette indicated that the patches may provide a rough ride but that they would not redirect the direction of travel. Further, Mr. Robinette stated that he doubted Mr. Cockerham even saw the patched area since Mr. Robinette believed that Mr. Cockerham's car was already out of control before reaching that area. Additionally, in his examination of Mr. Cockerham's car, Mr. Robinette found no damage to the undercarriage other than a severely bent rod. Mr. Robinette testified that another factor contributing to the accident was that the occupants of Mr. Cockerham's car were not wearing their seatbelts. Mr. Robinette believed that Angela Simonson and Joshua Forbes would not have been ejected from the car if they had been properly strapped in.