Importance Of Preserving Evidence In Car Accident Cases

In 2018 alone, over 12 million vehicles were involved in road accidents, including 6.7 million passenger cars, which made up 55% of the overall figure. This shows you just how prevalent car accidents are. Car accidents could result in some very serious damages and injuries, depending on how bad the accident was. The aftermath of a car accident is always expensive. A lot of money would be spent on fixing property damage and some more would go on your hospital bills. If you own a car, then you may already be thinking of ways to avoid all of that. While it may be almost impossible to prevent a car accident from occurring, there are steps you can take that would shape the aftermath. That is why you have to bother about preserving evidence after the accident.

Evidence from an accident would help you prove that the accident happened, especially to those who were nowhere near the accident ground. So why do you need this evidence and what kind of evidence do you need to preserve? We would be touching on all of that in this post. But if you have been involved in a car accident, then you need to talk to a reputable accident lawyer in Miami to see what can be done.

Importance Of Preserving Evidence

There are some reasons why you should take your time to record and document evidence after a car accident. 

For Your Insurance Claims

You would need to present evidence of the accident to your insurance company before receiving any money form of payment from them. If you have policy protection on your car in case of accidents, you would need to prove that the accident happened and was the cause of the damages to your car. It is also the same if you have a cover on your health, which would have been affected by the injuries from the accident. Presenting evidence to the insurance company helps them to validate and value your claim and know how much to pay you.  

To Receive Compensation From The Other Party

Car accidents are personal injury cases, which means that you are entitled to some compensation by the at-fault party. You would have to present proof to the other party and their insurer to show that the fault of the accident lies with them and that you need to be paid by them. Pursuing car accident claims without evidence is almost futile.

To Present At Court

Car accidents sometimes lead to court appearance; either you are suing or you are being sued. The other party may try to sue you for damages and lay the fault of the accident on you. The only thing that can help you is evidence gotten from the accident scene. Taking your time to document evidence could save you from paying a lot of money after being wrongfully accused. 

What Kind Of Evidence Should Be Gathered After An Accident?  

Gathering and recording evidence should be one of the first things you do after an accident. The accident ground would contain enough evidence that can help to build a case and recording them immediately after the accident can go a long way to help you. Here are some pieces of evidence you should gather. 

Photographic Evidence

We live in a digitalized world now, so there is a very high chance that you would have a device with a camera on you after the accident, either your smartphone, tablet, or even your dashcam. Use your device to capture photos and videos from the accident scene. Snap the cars involved in the accident and pay special attention to the area of collision as well as things like broken glasses. Also include scenes from around the accident, like the state of the road, the weather situation, and more. Make sure you take enough photos and videos that would tell a story of the accident. 

Contact information

Talking with witnesses is also vital after an accident. This includes first responders as well as those gathered around the scene of the accident. Talk to people with businesses around the accident scene and find out the account of their story. Then store their contact information, like their names, phone number, and address. You may need to invite them on your day in court as witnesses. 

Physical Evidence

You would also need to gather physical evidence from the accident scene which you would present as evidence. Things like blown tires and little parts of the car that have fallen off may be very helpful to your case. 

Doctor’s Report

After the accident, you would need to check yourself into a hospital, whether you have obvious signs of injuries or not. Let the doctor document the injuries caused directly by the accident. You would need your doctor’s report to receive compensation for money spent on hospital bills. 

Work Report

Being involved in a car accident means you get to spend time away from work as you try to recover. This also means you lose money for the period you are absent. To regain your lost wages, you would need to present proof of work absence as well as lost wages to show that you missed work due to the accident. 

Things you should not do

As you gather your evidence, there are some things you should not do at the scene of the accident. 

Admit Fault

You should be careful about the kind of words you use near the other driver or around first responders. You should avoid words that denote admission of fault. Anything that sounds like an apology should be done away with. Be civil in your discussion without sounding apologetic or too emphatic. 

Speaking To The Other Driver’s Insurance Company

By all means, try to avoid speaking to the other party’s insurer. No matter how compelling they try to sound, never agree to an interview or give them any form of a recorded statement as they would use it against you and deny you your settlements. 

What Else Should You Do?

One final thing you should do is to contact a reputable accident lawyer in Miami to help you with your car accident claims and to ensure you are not cheated by the other party.