Traffic Accidents2026-10-31

Fatal Lorry Accident: How Is What Happened Proved Afterwards?

After a fatal accident involving a lorry, the reconstruction report decides the fate of your claims. What evidence exists, how quickly it disappears, and how you, as a bereaved relative, can influence it.

A member of your family has died in an accident involving a lorry. The police have examined the scene, are appealing for witnesses through the press and have announced that an expert report will be prepared — yet so far you have heard only fragments. And you are beginning to realise that everything turns on what will still be provable six months from now.

In brief

What happened is not reconstructed from people’s memories but from physical traces, vehicle data and measurements — brought together in an accident-analysis expert report that the public prosecutor commissions during the investigation. That report can be used in any later civil proceedings (§ 411a ZPO) and is therefore, as a rule, the decisive basis of evidence for the money you are owed. Your case is therefore not decided only in the civil court, but in the first few weeks of the investigation — while the traces still exist. For liability itself, the precise course of events matters less than most people assume: there, the question is usually only one of possible contributory fault.

How I can help you

Access to the files held by the public prosecutor and the police, so that you can actually see the expert report, the photographs and the survey record
Securing fleeting evidence: camera recordings, vehicle and tachograph data, and the whereabouts of the lorry
Scrutinising the official report for gaps, assumptions and margins — and, where needed, commissioning our own private report
Joining the proceedings as an accessory prosecutor (Nebenkläger), making applications for evidence, and putting questions to the expert
Registering all claims with the liability insurer, and keeping track of deadlines and limitation periods
Quantifying funeral costs, loss of maintenance and bereavement damages

What evidence exists — and how quickly it disappears

The scene of the accident no longer exists after a few hours. What remains is whatever the police have documented: the final resting positions, blood, scuff and scratch marks, scatter fields of debris, braking marks (often barely visible with modern braking systems), the point of impact on the vehicle, the deformation, and traces of clothing and other transfers on the underside. If this record is incomplete, there is no way to make it up later.

The vehicle is the single most important piece of evidence and, at the same time, the one most quickly lost. Lorries normally carry a digital tachograph, and to this are added data from control units, the haulier’s telematics and — in newer vehicles — from driver-assistance systems. Yet what often matters is something simpler: the position of the mirrors, the height of the seat, the layout of the windows. The driver’s field of vision can only be reconstructed on the original vehicle in its original condition. Once the lorry has been released, repaired and sold on, that question of evidence is settled for good.

The surroundings: cameras on buildings, in buses and trains, and other drivers’ dashcams. Such recordings are frequently overwritten automatically within a few days. Anyone who does not ask at once asks too late.

The people: a witness’s memory does not merely fade — it changes, not least under the influence of press reports. And the driver is not obliged to say anything about the matter.

The deadline that really counts here is written in no statute. It is a technical one: memory is overwritten, vehicles are repaired, recollections are overwritten too. In practice this means that whatever will be needed later must be requested in writing within the first few days.

What a reconstruction report calculates — and where it stops

The expert works backwards. From the final positions, the paths along which the body or vehicle was thrown or skidded, the deformation energy at the vehicle and the friction values of the road surface, he calculates the collision speed and compares it with the vehicle data that have been read out. From this he builds a distance-time diagram: where was the pedestrian or cyclist in each second before the impact, where was the lorry, and who was visible to whom and when?

Then comes the part that matters most in law — the assessment of avoidability: could the driver have prevented the accident had he behaved as his duties required? When turning right within a built-up area, a vehicle with a permissible total mass of more than 3.5 t must travel at walking pace where cyclists travelling straight on, or pedestrians crossing in the immediate area of the turn, are to be expected (§ 9 Abs. 6 StVO). Quite apart from this, particular care must be taken towards those on foot; if necessary, the driver must wait (§ 9 Abs. 3 Satz 3 StVO). When pulling away from the kerb an even stricter standard applies: any danger to others must be ruled out, and if necessary a banksman must be brought in (§ 10 StVO).

You should be aware of the limits of such a report. Its results come as ranges (“between 14 and 19 km/h”), reaction times are assumptions rather than measured values, and whether a given behaviour fell short of the required care is decided not by the expert but by the court — in civil proceedings on the basis of its free evaluation of the entire proceedings (§ 286 ZPO). It is precisely in those assumptions that the leverage lies, if they are challenged early.

Your rights during the investigation — and why they decide the money

As the relative of someone who has been killed, you are placed on the same footing as an injured person: § 373b Abs. 2 StPO covers spouses and civil partners, a partner living in the same household, relatives in the direct line, siblings and those entitled to maintenance, where the death was a direct consequence of the offence.

Access to the files: a solicitor can inspect the files on your behalf (§ 406e Abs. 1 StPO). In the cases covered by § 395 StPO — that is, where a child, parent, sibling, spouse or civil partner has been killed — there is no need to show a legitimate interest in order to do so. Access may nonetheless be refused, for instance for as long as it would appear to jeopardise the purpose of the investigation (§ 406e Abs. 2 StPO); during the investigation the decision rests with the public prosecutor (§ 406e Abs. 5 StPO).
Accessory prosecution (Nebenklage): children, parents, siblings, spouses and civil partners may join the public prosecution (§ 395 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 StPO), and may do so at any stage of the proceedings (§ 395 Abs. 4 StPO). An unmarried partner is not named there — but does have access to the file through § 373b Abs. 2 StPO.
Influence over the taking of evidence: the accessory prosecutor is to be involved and heard to the same extent as the public prosecutor; this includes applications for evidence, the right to put questions, and the ability to object to an expert (§ 397 Abs. 1 StPO).

Why this counts for your claims: the report commissioned by the prosecutor can take the place of a written expert opinion in the civil proceedings (§ 411a ZPO). Anyone who stays silent during the criminal proceedings often ends up accepting the very basis of evidence on which the insurer later relies.

Liability: why your claim does not stand or fall on what happened

Where a person is killed through the operation of a motor vehicle, the keeper is liable for the resulting loss (§ 7 Abs. 1 StVG) — without any need to prove fault. This liability is excluded only where the accident was caused by force majeure (§ 7 Abs. 2 StVG). In an accident involving a pedestrian or a cyclist, the keeper cannot escape liability by pointing to an “unavoidable event”; that defence applies, under § 17 Abs. 3 StVG, as between several motor vehicles involved. The driver is liable alongside the keeper, though his duty to compensate falls away if the loss was not caused by his fault (§ 18 Abs. 1 StVG). You can bring your claim directly against the liability insurer; insurer and policyholder are liable as joint and several debtors (§ 115 Abs. 1 VVG).

The dispute is therefore rarely about whether there is liability at all, but about the apportionment: any contributory fault on the part of the person killed — a red light, stepping out past a waiting lorry, crossing while distracted — reduces the claim under § 9 StVG in conjunction with § 254 BGB, but only in exceptional cases reduces it to nothing. It is precisely for this that what happened is needed.

Recoverable in particular are the funeral costs (§ 844 Abs. 1 BGB), the lost maintenance in the form of a monetary annuity (§ 844 Abs. 2 BGB) and bereavement damages for the emotional suffering (§ 844 Abs. 3 BGB). In the case of spouses, civil partners, parents and children, the particular personal closeness required is presumed; siblings or unmarried partners must set it out. The no-fault liability under the StVG is capped in amount (§ 12 StVG) — where fault is proved, § 823 BGB applies without that cap. As to time limits: the claim against the insurer becomes time-barred in the same way as the claim against the person liable, but ends at the latest ten years after the loss arose; registering the claim with the insurer suspends the limitation period until the insurer’s decision reaches you in text form (§ 115 Abs. 2 VVG).

A typical case

An articulated lorry turns right at a city-centre junction. A woman on foot is crossing the side road on a green light and is run over by the trailer. The driver says she was “suddenly there”. The police appeal for witnesses; the family hears nothing for months.

Once the files are inspected, a different picture emerges: the vehicle data show a turning speed well above walking pace, and a field-of-vision analysis carried out on the original vehicle establishes that the woman was visible in the mirrors for more than a second. The report had initially assumed a less favourable reaction time; an application for evidence in the criminal proceedings leads to a supplementary report. The insurer had previously asserted a 50 per cent share of contributory fault — after the supplement, nothing of that remains.

Common mistakes

Waiting. Many bereaved relatives wait until the prosecutor gets in touch. In that time the vehicle is released and video footage is overwritten.
Speaking to the other side’s insurer on the telephone. Off-the-cuff accounts of what happened, questionnaires and waivers of confidentiality all end up on file and are used to argue down your share.
Accepting the official report as settled fact. It is a calculation built on assumptions — and those assumptions can be challenged, but only in good time.
Failing to secure the lorry. Without the vehicle in its accident condition, the question of the field of vision can no longer be resolved.
Thinking only of a sum for the suffering. Loss of maintenance and funeral costs are often the larger item, yet are frequently never claimed at all.
Questioning witnesses yourself. Well meant, but it devalues their evidence.
Treating the discontinuance of the criminal proceedings as a defeat. The standards of criminal law and civil law are not the same.

Frequently asked questions

What if there are no witnesses at all?

Then it is the physical evidence that decides, and in lorry accidents that is often more telling than witness accounts: final positions, impact marks, deformation and vehicle data can all be analysed by calculation. On top of this, the keeper is liable under § 7 Abs. 1 StVG for the operating risk alone — without any driving error having to be proved against your side. Without witnesses the question of avoidability is harder, but your claim is not lost.

May I read the police’s expert report and do something about it?

Yes. As a bereaved relative you can, through a solicitor, inspect the files (§ 406e StPO) — and where a close relative has been killed, without giving any particular reason. As an accessory prosecutor you can make applications for evidence, put questions to the expert and object to him (§ 397 Abs. 1 StPO). In parallel, a private report can be obtained to examine the assumptions and ranges in the official report.

The criminal proceedings have been discontinued. Does that mean my claims are over?

No. Criminal law is concerned with personal guilt and with a high standard of proof. The keeper’s liability under § 7 Abs. 1 StVG, by contrast, requires no fault at all and is as a rule excluded only in cases of force majeure. A discontinuance can make the negotiating position harder — but it does not bring your claims to an end.

How is the amount of bereavement damages determined?

The statute names no figure, but speaks of “reasonable compensation” for the emotional suffering (§ 844 Abs. 3 BGB). What matters is the circumstances of the individual case, such as the closeness of the relationship and the nature of the burden. This can only responsibly be assessed on the basis of your particular situation, not from a table — which is why it belongs in the first consultation.

What does it cost to have this looked into?

The fees are governed by the RVG or by a separate agreement; I will set out the framework in the first consultation, before anything is set in motion. Where the claims exist, the necessary costs of pursuing them are as a rule themselves part of the recoverable loss. Motor legal-expenses insurance — including through your relative — frequently applies; I will clarify for you whether cover exists.

Your next step

What will decide your case is disappearing even now: data are being overwritten, the vehicle is being repaired, memories are shifting. So do not speak to the insurer first — have the evidence secured first. Send me what you have: the police reference number, press reports, the names of possible witnesses, letters from the insurer. I will apply for access to the files, secure the fleeting evidence, arrange for you to join the proceedings as an accessory prosecutor, and register your claims in good time to preserve them. You will find more background on my page on road traffic accident law.

I represent bereaved families throughout Germany; we can hold the first consultation by video or telephone, so that you need not travel. This article provides general information and is no substitute for advice on your individual case.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-10-31.

Christian Czirnich, Rechtsanwalt (attorney at law), Kirchseeon near Munich

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