What is the VSIRC?

The VSIRC is basically a database that has consolidated a great deal of valuable information into one place. According to the company’s website, www.vsirc.com:

[The] VSIRC provides critical research tools and access to government data and documents on motor vehicle safety… [which] allow users to quickly and easily identify vital information that is difficult to access and search, inaccessible through the government web portals, or no longer available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA].

In addition to the above, the VSIRC also has hard to find information on foreign recalls and is supposedly adding early warning reporting data from manufacturers that details injury, death and property damage claims relating to certain vehicles.

All of that may be a mouthful, but the bottom line is that, 1) it makes finding safety data easier, and 2) it can help car accident victims in product liability cases.

Database important in product liability cases

Legal experts say that the database will be extremely important in product liability cases, which tend to go hand in hand with car accident cases. In the past, lawyers often had a difficult time trying to find data on the NHTSA’s website, and when they did find it, they would have to download hundreds of different documents. The process was extremely cumbersome and time consuming.

Now, all of that information is in one place and lawyers may be able to search for additional information to help their clients in the process. And as they say, information is power. That power is important to victims of car accidents because it allows their attorneys to present more, and better, evidence of a vehicle’s safety records. The end result is that victims may realize faster, and potentially higher, settlements and damage awards.