Mar21

The Importance of Gathering Evidence After a Car Accident

taking photos after car accident

You may be overwhelmed in the immediate aftermath of a car accident. If you can collect yourself and begin to gather information about the crash, it may help you later.

If you file an insurance claim against the at-fault driver after a car accident, the claim will be stronger with physical evidence that supports your account that the other driver caused the crash. If you must pursue legal action to seek damages after a car accident, it will require gathering evidence to prove your case.

After a car accident in Palm Coast, Florida, and elsewhere in Flagler County or Volusia County, you can contact the car accident lawyers of Chiumento Law, PLLC, for help pursuing compensation for your medical expenses and other losses. Our law firm will gather and preserve evidence after a car crash to establish liability and support a personal injury claim. The evidence you can gather, such as photos of the accident scene before the cars are moved, may be crucial to building a personal injury lawsuit.

What Do We Mean by ‘Car Accident Evidence’?

Evidence in a car accident claim is information or an item offered to support or challenge a fact asserted in the claim. Evidence in legal proceedings can take the form of testimony, documents, surveillance footage, photographs of skid marks or traffic signs, videos, DNA testing, or other objects. Many types of evidence can be useful in determining fault and proving liability.

To be presented in court, the evidence must be admissible under the local court’s rules of evidence. For example, you might think a driver’s bad driving record is strong evidence against him. But in civil litigation, prior bad acts are generally not permissible as evidence of a party’s misconduct in the current case. The rationale is that having committed driving infractions in the past does not necessarily mean a driver was at fault in the accident under question.

When you are still gathering evidence to determine what happened, information that may not make it to court can still be helpful. For example, a reckless driving ticket issued to a driver after a car accident is evidence of that driver’s negligence prior to that specific crash. It is not necessarily evidence that the driver’s reckless driving caused the present accident, but it tells us to look further into that driver’s actions just prior to the crash.

Evidence can be tricky in personal injury cases. It can be misleading or damage a case. You don’t always know where it will lead you. Preserving physical evidence before it is lost or deteriorates is crucial. This is why it’s good to gather multiple pieces of evidence as you investigate a car accident. Let’s take a look at what we try to do with car accident evidence and what kind of evidence can help us:

Establishing Liability

Our primary goal is to establish liability, or legal responsibility, for the car accident. The driver found to be at fault will likely be required to compensate others injured in the crash. We might establish liability with the following:

  • A confession. A driver might have said something incriminating at the accident scene. If it was recorded or multiple witnesses recalled it identically, it would be damaging to that driver.
  • Police report. When the police respond to an accident, they produce an accident report. Police reports document the names of the drivers involved, their insurance information, and what the police believed happened to cause the car accident. Official documents are valuable evidence in car accident cases.
  • A ticket. If a driver was charged with a traffic violation in connection with an accident, that is strong evidence of fault. A ticket is usually accompanied by the issuing officer’s testimony as to why he thought the driver was at fault.
  • Witness testimony. If multiple people who saw the accident testify to the same facts implicating one driver, that’s strong evidence to establish liability.
  • Video. Once in a while, surveillance video or someone with a phone in the right place at the right time catches an accident on video.

Establishing Injury

An injury is a harm suffered by a person due to some act or omission done by another person. In a car accident case, the harm is typically bodily injuries and monetary injury. The evidence of how you have been injured in a car accident might include:

  • Photos/video. It is good to take photos or videos documenting injuries after a car accident. The photos should be taken at the accident scene if possible. Photos or videos documenting how the injury has affected your life are also potential evidence, such as photos of you in a hospital bed or video of you getting used to crutches or undergoing physical rehab. Photos of your damaged car show your vehicle damage as well as how horrific the crash was.
  • Medical records. Medical records, plus your doctor’s notes and testimony, tell the story of your traumatic injuries. Medical records are essential evidence. It’s important to seek immediate medical attention to document your injuries.
  • Repair estimates. The insurance company will ask for car repair estimates. This puts a figure on your property damage injury.
  • Employment records. A statement from your employer about work time you have missed is evidence of what you are due for lost wages compensation.
  • Receipts. Receipts reflecting your payment of medical bills and other costs associated with the car accident are evidence of your monetary injury.
  • Your journal. We sometimes suggest that clients facing a long convalescence keep a journal about their recovery. The challenges the accident victim faces during recovery may be used as evidence of their pain and suffering and the compensation they deserve for what they’ve been put through because of someone else’s negligence.

Putting Evidence to Work in a Car Accident Claim

Once we have solid evidence of the other driver’s liability and a full accounting of your losses and the compensation you are due, we can present a “demand” letter to the driver’s insurance company. This outlines our evidence of the at-fault driver’s liability and informs the insurer of the amount you should be paid for your injuries and financial losses

Most cases can be settled through negotiations, either after a demand letter is issued or during “discovery,” the process in which each side shares its evidence with the other after a personal injury lawsuit is filed. After insurance companies see the strength of the evidence, they often get serious about trying to settle a personal injury claim.

If the insurer will not offer a good faith settlement, we will be ready to go to court. A car accident lawyer will guide you through the legal proceedings and present compelling evidence that we have gathered for your car accident claim.

Contact Our Experienced Car Accident Attorneys in Palm Coast

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Palm Coast and believe someone else was to blame, contact a car accident lawyer at Chiumento Law, PLLC, as soon as possible. We can answer your questions about the claims process and evaluate your case free of charge when you schedule a free consultation. Our goal is to pursue fair compensation for you. The sooner you contact us, the better our chances of finding crucial evidence before it is lost and seeking a favorable outcome for you.

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