5 Records from Car Accidents to Have When Meeting Your Lawyer
Have you recently been in a car accident that was due to the negligence of another driver? Do you feel like you deserve compensation for the injuries and damage they caused? If so, then you need to start by providing the proper records from car accidents to your lawyer.
This can help in a variety of ways. It will help them build evidence, reach out to gather witness statements, and help them configure how much compensation you’re entitled to.
See below for an in-depth guide on the records that you will need for your car accident case; make sure you have every single one.
1. Information From the Other Driver(s)
As soon as you’ve gotten everyone to safety, make sure to call 911 to have cops dispatched to the scene. After that, your top priority should be to gather essential contact information from the other driver(s) that was in the accident.
Make sure that you have the insurance information of everyone involved. You should also collect their driver’s license information, their name, their number, and their address.
If a person doesn’t have a phone number or an address that they can give, then collect an email address or a social media account. If they provide the latter, make sure that you verify it by checking for photos of them on their account, etc.
All of this information is important to your case. Lawyers need it to paint a picture of who was there, who was responsible, and that your story lines up correctly.
If you’ve been involved in a rideshare accident, then the situation gets a bit murkier. Hire an Uber car accident lawyer to take over the schematics of your case. It can be difficult to determine who is responsible for giving you compensation, making the contact information all the more important.
2. Photos and Videos Taken at the Scene
Photos and videos are the biggest forms of confirmation to support your case. For example, they can confirm that Driver A had people in the car with him/her, even if they deny it. It can show that you were the victim of a T-bone crash, not the other way around.
But here’s the catch: photos and videos have to be taken at the scene. As soon as you drive away from it, you’ll never get the chance to get them back.
As soon as you get to safety and exchange information, pull your phone out and start taking as many photos and videos as possible. Make sure you take pictures of things like:
- Any injuries that you sustained
- The arrangement of the cars after the crash (don’t move them until the police finish their report)
- The road that the accident occurred on
- The time of day
- All others that were involved in the crash (passengers included)
- The license plates of the cars
- Witnesses that stayed behind to help sort things out
Your car accident lawyer will use this information as evidence for your case. If you don’t have any photos or videos, a lawyer might still be able to retrieve some using their network.
3. Medical Bills
Compensation isn’t just a “big payday” for someone else hitting your car. It’s used to ensure that you and your family are protected from a financial setback due to an unforeseen situation.
As such, you should seek medical assistance right away. Delaying medical treatment can work against your case, the opposition will claim that your delay is a sign you don’t have serious injuries.
Provide your lawyer with the medical bills as proof; they’ll use this (and other factors) to calculate how much compensation you need. This can give them more leverage when they attempt to settle with the insurance company.
Don’t be worried about the costly medical bills while you await your case to be resolved. Your attorney can point you in the direction of a trusted pre-settlement funding provider to ensure you’re financially protected in the meantime.
4. Witness Statements and Information
Most of the time, there will be witnesses that stay behind to ensure everyone is safe and to tell their side of the story to the police.
Regardless of who was at fault, it’s always important to talk with each witness. Your lawyer will want to reach out to as many as possible to get statements to build your case.
Take the time to talk with the witnesses and ask them for a brief summary of what they saw. Have your phone handy to write down what they say, then make sure to gather their name, number, and address.
5. Tickets or Citations
If you’re the person deemed at fault for the crash, then you might receive a ticket or citation from the police officer. Don’t be alarmed.
Hold on to that ticket and present it to your lawyer. They can use the information from your case to fight the ticket and make sure it doesn’t affect the decision of the case.
Just because you received a ticket for speeding doesn’t mean you were the one at fault for the incident. For example, if you had the right of way, then it’s still the other party’s fault for the crash.
Present These Records From Car Accidents to Your Lawyer
Now that you have seen an in-depth guide on the 5 records from car accidents that you need to present to your lawyer, be sure to use this information wisely.
Take the time to browse our website for more articles on car accidents, as well as many other topics that you will find helpful.
