At Kelley / Uustal, we probe beneath the surface to find the often-overlooked clues that make the difference between victory and defeat in court. Forensic science techniques can be of great help to victims, but too often the victim's attorney has neither the resources nor the expertise to effectively utilize forensic science.
We built our Forensic Discovery Methodology over decades of courtroom battles. Our Forensic Discovery Process seeks out evidence that others often miss, and finds proof in evidence that means nothing to attorneys without forensic experience. This process is built on the following key pillars:
- Preserve and document physical and medical evidence.
- Research and analyze evidence at our facilities.
- Reverse-engineer the case to identify root causes and responsibilities.
- Challenge the assumptions made by physicians, law enforcement, civilian witnesses and other experts and observers.
- Engage world-class scientists, engineers and physicians to add powerful insights to our investigation.
- Utilize evidence developed in similar cases litigated by Kelley / Uustal, thus identifying clues and patterns to help prove the case.
Tire track impressions, airbag residues, accident scene reconstruction, and similar techniques have long been used to establish the cause of an auto accident or other personal injury accidents. While these techniques have value in establishing the cause of a personal injury case, they alone, do not identify the underlying design defects.
In automobile cases, for example, there are often two collisions; the first collision is a car hitting something—another car, a tree, a road sign. The second collision involves riders in the car hitting parts of the car's interior. Second collision claims typically address automobile safety and stability features that fail to provide an occupant reasonable protection from injury, regardless of the cause of the crash.
To prove these types of product liabilities, material failure analysis, accident simulation, product design documents and more advanced forensic tools are needed. Auto manufacturers, consumer products companies, insurance companies, and big business have been using these techniques to aggressively defend themselves against product liability claims. While forensic science techniques can often be great help to the victims, too often the victim’s attorney has neither the resources nor experience to effectively leverage forensic science.
America’s legal system is based on the belief that the legal process results in justice. Sometimes, however, large corporations, insurance companies, and medical conglomerates have been able to effectively use their superior resources to unfairly defend themselves against families and consumers who have been victimized by dangerous products, medical devices and drugs, as well as bad-faith from the insurance companies.
In leveraging the science and technology that was, until recently, unavailable to these victims, Kelley / Uustal is able to pursue justice for all. We won't settle for anything less.