Litigating in the aftermath of accidents is big business in the United States today. The costs of the lawsuit system are estimated to be several billion dollars a year. With such large sums of money riding on the outcomes of lawsuits every year, tools are needed to ensure that the cases are decided correctly and fairly and that frivolous suits do not waste the resources of the judicial system.

To accurately record and investigate every detail of an accident scene, laser scanning may be the biggest breakthrough since digital photography. Unlike two-dimensional photographs, however, noncontact laser scanning records the scene in three dimensions, capturing every detail, measurement, and placement without disturbing any evidence. Happily, it is gaining popularity with investigators and was even used to recreate a crime scene on a popular television drama recently.

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