What Evidence Can Help Your Car Accident Case?
In California, the person at fault for causing a motor vehicle accident is required to pay. However, the injured victim must prove or establish fault using evidence to qualify for financial compensation. Los Angeles car accident lawyers explain that a car accident claim is only as strong as its evidence. Optimize your chances of success by knowing what evidence to collect to build your car accident case.
A Police Report
It is important to always report a car accident to the police. This is a legal requirement in California if a car accident causes injuries, deaths or more than $1,000 in property damage. Even a minor accident should be reported, however, so that you have a police report.
The police report provides important documentation regarding the collision, such as contact information and statements from everyone involved, a description of events, official crash scene photographs, citations given to either driver, and the police officer’s opinion regarding fault.
Injury Documentation
One of the most critical forms of evidence to collect for a car accident case is documentation proving your injuries. Visit the nearest hospital or emergency room immediately after your collision, even if you feel fine. Initial pain and other injury symptoms may not appear right away.
Get checked by a doctor and keep copies of all relevant medical records. This may include scans and x-rays, letters from your doctor, medication prescriptions, and documentation of psychiatric care for post-traumatic stress disorder. You should also keep an injury journal where you describe how you feel day-to-day.
Photographic Evidence
Photos and videos can provide strong evidence for a car accident case. Pictures at the crash scene of the damage to both vehicles, road markings, the inside of the other driver’s car, street signs, weather conditions and other relevant details can provide clear, unbiased evidence of fault.
Crash scene photos can help investigators piece together what happened and who is to blame. If there is any video footage of the collision, such as from dashboard cameras or nearby surveillance cameras, this can also provide key evidence of fault.
Eyewitness Statements
Detailed accounts and signed statements from witnesses can support your car accident case. Eyewitnesses who were present at the scene or involved in the accident, such as vehicle passengers, can provide unbiased, third-party descriptions of what happened. Witness testimony can validate your version of events and prove that another driver was at fault.
Records and Logs
In the days and weeks following your crash, do your best to collect various records and documents that may be relevant to your case. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, this can include:
- Company information (after a commercial truck accident)
- Driver logs and histories (for an on-duty driver)
- A truck or vehicle’s black box
- The other driver’s cell phone records
- Vehicle maintenance records
- Your vehicle repair estimates
It can be helpful to contact a car accident attorney to help you with crash documentation. An attorney can issue subpoenas requiring the other side of your case to cooperate with the claim and submit certain types of evidence.
Expert Testimony
Another important reason to hire a car accident attorney is to gain access to expert testimony. While this is not a requirement for every car accident case, qualified professionals such as medical experts and accident reconstruction specialists can be key when dealing with a complicated or contested claim. An experienced personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles will have connections to experts at the top of their field to hire during your case, if necessary.