What Evidence Can Strengthen Your Car Accident Claim?
If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident that was not your fault, you deserve a fair settlement from the insurance company to move forward. This settlement needs to include coverage for all your medical expenses, coverage for missed work, coverage for property damage, and any other costs or damages you incurred because of the accident. If your injuries are severe and you are facing a long-term and painful recovery, you will also likely be entitled to receive compensation for long-term pain and suffering, impaired earning capacity, and future medical expenses. When a car accident is severe, obtaining a comprehensive settlement is complicated, and you need the right evidence to prove your damages. It’s important to understand what evidence you need early in the process so you don’t find yourself scrambling later.
Photographic Evidence is Very Helpful in Clarifying Details
The freshest evidence is the best evidence. If you are able, make sure someone is taking pictures after the accident of injuries, damage to the cars, road conditions, the area where the accident occurred (traffic signals, lane configurations, etc.), and anything else you think may be relevant. However, the irony is that in severe accidents, you are not likely to be able to request pictures be taken, as you will need to prioritize your medical care. If this describes your circumstances, have someone go to the scene for you to make sure photographs are taken, and any other evidence preserved. You may also get lucky and find that there are surveillance in the area; if so, contact the camera owner quickly to make sure the recording does not get erased.
Expert Testimony Can Support Your Claim
The police investigation that gets memorialized in the report will be the cornerstone of your case. This will contain the responding officer’s observations at the scene. For example, there will be a diagram of where the cars were immediately prior to the crash, up to and through their final resting points. It should also show where the impact occurred. The names of the drivers, passengers, vehicle owners, and witnesses to the collision. Most, but not all reports, also contain statements from the involved parties and any eye witnesses. It will also indicate whether citations were issued, and what statute or ordinance was violated. It will also include a determination as to whether one of the drivers was distracted by anything to cause the crash. Finally, in cases of serious injuries or death, there will likely be an accident reconstruction performed.
Most cases are straightforward, with liability determinations being clearly demonstrated. Even in these circumstances, the insurance company may try to challenge the liability determination made in the report; they do this to try to minimize their claim payout by making assertions that you (the injured party) shared fault. They use these tactics even when the police report doesn’t support it.
In cases where liability determinations are less straightforward, you may need to employ an accident reconstructionist. These experts are able to help bring clarity to the liability issue by analyzing evidence at the scene, vehicle damage, weather data, and any information gathered by the police and memorialized in the report. Witness testimony is helpful, but not always reliable, because accidents happen so quickly, emotions and adrenaline are heightened, injuries can impact if you can give a complete statement, and memories age so badly. Bias also enters into it because both parties are looking out for their own divergent interests. Having expert testimony and an accident reconstructionist can help break down what happened using a combination of data and scientific principles. These specialists are experts at recreating what happened. Their findings are then put into a report that can become the evidence you need to support your claim.
Keep Records of Everything
Document everything, and make sure you have all that documentation readily available in an organized way. This includes:
- Police reports (you can request a copy if you were not given one)
- All medical records related to the accident – emergency room, hospital stay, follow-up care, physical therapy, medications, and anything else needed for recovery
- Statements from your employer about work missed due to the accident and your recovery
- An estimate and/or work-order from the repair shop about damage to your vehicle
- Records and billing from your medical team about your outlook
- Statements from those who witnessed the accident
- Your own recollections about the accident, your injuries, treatment, and how it has affected your life. Write these things down as soon as possible.
It is very easy for this documentation to get forgotten or lost, especially if you are dealing with serious injuries. However, putting in the effort early in the process, as these things are happening, is far less stressful than trying to recreate what you need later.
Hiring an Attorney Can Help You Present Your Evidence More Effectively
You have your account of the accident. You have your medical records. If you were lucky to be capable after the accident (or had a willing witness) to take photographs at the scene, you have those. While all those pieces are important, if you don’t present them in an organized and proper manner, they will likely not be effective to help you recover on your claim. A car accident attorney not only knows what evidence is necessary to present, but they know how to present it. They know how to layer eyewitness testimony with expert testimony, how to gather the right photographic evidence from the scene and combine that with medical evidence. They know how to calculate the compensation for past/current pain and suffering and project what compensation you are entitled to in the future based on your injuries. To compare the two presentations: you may have a few photos on your phone, your recollections, a few pages of records from your doctor, and maybe a letter from your employer. Your attorney has a well-documented case. While your attorney has everything you gathered, plus much more – comprehensive scene documentation and assessment, legal analysis of liability, complete medical documentation and billing, and so forth. The insurance company will have lawyers working to undermine your claim, so you need to have that same horsepower working to support you.
Don’t let a lack of evidence hurt your claim. You should be focused on your physical recovery. Let the lawyers at Arthur Law Firm use their experience to properly document your claim, and negotiate your claim on your behalf. Contact us today at (419) 782-9881 for a free consultation to discuss your legal options.