Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Reconstruction-Grade Accident Scene Documentation
Delator Claims Division documents collision scenes to the standard a reconstruction depends on: measured, referenced and photographed so an analyst can work from the record later. Available to carriers, attorneys, fleets and individuals in all 95 Tennessee counties.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A reconstruction is only as good as the field record beneath it. Ordinary claim photographs show that a crash happened. They rarely show where a tire mark began relative to a fixed object, how far a vehicle traveled after impact, or what a driver could see from the approach. Reconstruction-grade documentation captures those facts as measurements tied to permanent reference points, so the scene can be redrawn to scale after the roadway has been cleared.
Delator's field personnel are licensed Tennessee private investigators with accident reconstruction experience. On these assignments they record the physical evidence, the roadway geometry and the environment in a consistent order, and they note what could not be captured and why. Where the retaining party uses its own reconstruction expert, the measurements, photographs and notes are delivered in a form that expert can use directly. The documentation states what was found. It does not assign legal fault.
When a claim needs more than photographs
- A serious-injury or fatality collision where speed, braking or path of travel is expected to be contested by the parties.
- Counsel has retained a reconstruction expert who cannot reach the scene before marks fade or the roadway is repaved.
- A carrier is weighing comparative fault and needs the physical evidence fixed in place before driver accounts drift further apart.
- The police report contains a diagram that is not to scale and gives no measurements for marks or rest positions.
- A fleet operator wants an independent, measured record of a crash involving its vehicle before the equipment is repaired.
What a reconstruction-grade record contains
- Reference point network
- Permanent objects such as utility poles, drain inlets and curb corners are identified, photographed and tied together by measurement so every later reading can be relocated.
- Numbered evidence inventory
- Each mark, gouge, fluid trail and debris concentration is numbered, described and photographed with a marker so the diagram, notes and images refer to the same item.
- Plot-ready measurement table
- Measurements are recorded in a table an analyst can plot, with units, the method used and the two reference points each reading was taken from.
- Approach and departure paths
- The route each vehicle is reported to have taken is walked and photographed at intervals, recording lane layout, grade, curvature and surface changes along it.
- Conditions at the time of the visit
- Time, weather, lighting and surface moisture during documentation are logged, since they differ from crash conditions and the analyst needs to know how.
- Stated limits of the record
- Field notes identify evidence that had been moved, washed away, repaired or was inaccessible, so the analyst knows which parts of the scene rest on measurement.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Why the field record sets the ceiling for the analysis
An analyst working months later can test only what was captured. The length and shape of a tire mark, the separation between the area of impact and the final rest positions, and the damage each vehicle carries are the inputs from which speed ranges, braking and path of travel are later examined. If a mark was photographed without a scale, or a rest position was noted without measurement, that input is an estimate, and the opposing side will treat it as one.
Much of this evidence is short-lived. Tire marks lighten under traffic and rain within days. Debris is swept to the shoulder by responders and scattered further by passing vehicles. Paint marks placed by police wear off, and vehicles are repaired or sold for salvage. Tennessee uses modified comparative fault, so the allocation between drivers matters to the outcome, and the physical record is often the only source that does not depend on memory.
How the documentation is delivered and used
The deliverable is organized for a technical reader: a photo log keyed to evidence numbers, a measurement table with reference points identified, timestamped photographs and video, and factual field notes. It is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day. Nothing in it is edited to favor a position. The same record would be produced whether the request came from a carrier, a plaintiff's attorney, a defense firm or a driver handling a claim without counsel.
Some clients ask only for the capture, and pass it to an expert they have already retained. Others ask Delator's personnel, who have accident reconstruction experience, to report technical findings from the evidence, such as the sequence the marks indicate. In either case the findings describe what the physical evidence shows and how firmly. Legal fault is decided by the adjuster, the parties or the court, and whether any material is accepted in a proceeding is for the court to decide.
Delator personnel have accident reconstruction experience. The work product is physical evidence and technical findings; it does not determine legal fault, which remains with the parties, the court or a jury.
Delator Claims Division is not an engineering firm. Whether any analysis is accepted in a proceeding is decided by the court.
Common questions about this service
How is this different from standard accident scene documentation?
Standard documentation records the scene's condition with photographs, video and general measurements. A reconstruction-grade assignment adds a reference point network, numbered evidence, a full measurement table and photo sets taken for scaling. It takes longer on scene and is requested when the mechanics of the collision are likely to be analyzed.
Can our own reconstruction expert direct what is captured?
Yes. If your expert has a preferred measurement method, photo sequence or list of items, send it with the request and the field investigator will follow it. The expert can also be on the phone during the visit. The record is then delivered in the form that expert asked for.
Will the report say who caused the crash?
No. The documentation records physical evidence, and any technical findings describe what that evidence indicates about vehicle movement. Delator Claims Division does not determine legal fault, coverage or value, and it does not give legal advice. Those decisions belong to the adjuster, the parties, their counsel or the court.
The crash was two weeks ago. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Gouges, roadway geometry, sightlines, signage and fixed-object damage usually remain, and faint tire marks can sometimes still be photographed in low-angle light. The field notes will state what was present on the date of the visit and what had evidently been lost, so the record is not overstated.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.