Computerized method and system of determining inconsistencies in witness statements relating to an accident

• US 8,069,062 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2001
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Original Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Inventors: Wahlbin, Steven Stefan, Johnston, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Koppikar; Vivek D
• Application Number:
  US09/969,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059083A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,710 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 4
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for estimating liability in an accident. In an embodiment, the liability estimate may include a base liability and one or more adjustments due to various factors. The base liability may be determined from characteristics including: the configuration of the roadway, the type of accident, right of way, and impact points of each vehicle. The adjustments due to various factors may be determined from conditions of vehicles in the accident, conditions of drivers in the accident, actions of drivers in the accident, and/or environmental conditions in the accident. In one embodiment, a base liability adjusted due to the various factors may exceed a predefined upper or lower bound of liability. In such a case, an absolute liability value may be assigned as the liability estimate.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a CPU; and

a memory coupled to the CPU, wherein the memory is configured to store one or more computer programs executable by the CPU, and wherein the computer programs are executable to;

obtain at least two real witness statements relating to a real accident, the two or more witness statements comprising a first witness statement and a second witness statement in conflict with the first witness statement, wherein the first witness statement comprises an answer to a first question, wherein the second witness statement comprises an answer to a second question;

wherein the first question is different from the second question;

compare the content of one or more of the witness statements to the other witness statements, wherein comparing is conducted by a computerized system using a predetermined method for conducting the comparing;

automatically determine inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements based on the comparison, wherein determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements comprises automatically identifying an inconsistency between the answer to the first question in the first witness statement and the answer to the second question in the second witness statement;

automatically determine which of the two or more witness statements is most consistent among the two or more witness statements; and

automatically creating a single description of the accident based on the most consistent witness statements determined by the comparing performed by the computer system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the real accident comprises a vehicle accident.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the real accident comprises a two vehicle accident.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first witness statement comprises a first answer to a third question, wherein the second witness statement comprises a second answer to the third question, wherein the second answer is different from the first answer, and wherein determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements comprises identifying an inconsistency between the first answer to the third question in the first witness statement and the second answer to the third question in the second witness statement.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the single description of the real accident comprises a description of the accident based on the witness statements that are consistent with the most witnesses.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising automatically identifying a most likely version of the accident.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising automatically identifying a most likely version of the accident, wherein the most likely version of the accident corresponds with the version with the most responses that are consistent across all the witnesses to the accident.

8. A method, comprising:

providing to a computer system at least two witness statements relating to a real accident, the two or more witness statements comprising a first witness statement and a second witness statement in conflict with the first witness statement, wherein the first witness statement comprises an answer to a first question, wherein the second witness statement comprises an answer to a second question;

wherein the first question is different from the second question;

automatically comparing, by the computer system, the content of one or more of the witness statements to the other witness statements, wherein comparing is conducted by a computerized system using a predetermined method for conducting the comparing;

automatically determining, by the computer system, inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements based on the comparison, wherein determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements comprises automatically identifying an inconsistency between the answer to the first question in the first witness statement and the answer to the second question in the second witness statement;

automatically determining, by the computer system, which of the two or more witness statements is most consistent among the two or more witness statements; and

automatically creating, by the computer system, a single description of the accident based on the most consistent witness statements determined by the comparing performed by the computer system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the real accident comprises a vehicle accident.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the real accident comprises a two vehicle accident.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first witness statement comprises a first answer to a third question, wherein the second witness statement comprises a second answer to the third question, wherein the second answer is different from the first answer, and wherein determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements comprises identifying an inconsistency between the first answer to the third question in the first witness statement and the second answer to the third question in the second witness statement.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the single description of the real accident comprises a description of the accident based on the witness statements that are consistent with the most witnesses.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising automatically identifying a most likely version of the accident.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising automatically identifying a most likely version of the accident, wherein the most likely version of the accident corresponds with the version with the most responses that are consistent across all the witnesses to the accident.

15. A tangible computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored therein, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement a method comprising:

providing to a computer system at least two witness statements relating to a real accident, the two or more witness statements comprising a first witness statement and a second witness statement in conflict with the first witness statement, wherein the first witness statement comprises an answer to a first question, wherein the second witness statement comprises an answer to a second question;

wherein the first question is different from the second question;

automatically comparing the content of one or more of the witness statements to the other witness statements, wherein comparing is conducted by a computerized system using a predetermined method for conducting the comparing;

automatically determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements based on the comparison, wherein determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements comprises automatically identifying an inconsistency between the answer to the first question in the first witness statement and the answer to the second question in the second witness statement;

automatically determining which of the two or more witness statements is most consistent among the two or more witness statements; and

automatically creating a single description of the accident based on the most consistent witness statements determined by the comparing performed by the computer system.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the real accident comprises a vehicle accident.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the first witness statement comprises a first answer to a third question, wherein the second witness statement comprises a second answer to the third question, wherein the second answer is different from the first answer, and wherein determining inconsistencies between the two or more witness statements comprises identifying an inconsistency between the first answer to the third question in the first witness statement and the second answer to the third question in the second witness statement.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the single description of the real accident comprises a description of the accident based on the witness statements that are consistent with the most witnesses.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising automatically identifying a most likely version of the accident.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising automatically identifying a most likely version of the accident, wherein the most likely version of the accident corresponds with the version with the most responses that are consistent across all the witnesses to the accident.