The Importance of Gathering Evidence after an Accident

Accidents are traumatic events, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed in the aftermath. However, it’s important to keep calm, take the appropriate steps to hold the at-fault party accountable and seek compensation for your damages.

One of the most important steps is gathering evidence. By doing this, you can build a claim against the at-fault party. An effective claim can allow you to recover fair compensation for your losses after a car accident.

Why does evidence matter after an accident?

Evidence is one of the most critical parts of a car accident claim. Without any evidence, you may not be able to stand up to tricky insurance companies or difficult legal teams that are always ready to challenge your statements, claims, and credibility. Below, we will go over a few of the ways that gathering evidence can support and help your claim.

• It can help you identify liable parties: If you want to hold the at-fault parties accountable and seek financial recovery for your losses, you must be able to clearly identify the liable parties. Insurance companies will simply not believe or take your statements into consideration without valid proof of who is liable and how they are liable. In order to identify the liable parties and show proof of their fault, you will need to collect convincing evidence.
• It can help you prove your losses: You may have a broken arm, feel extremely sore, and even have a difficult time getting out of bed each morning. However, you must have evidence that shows you are experiencing each of these losses and that they are directly connected to your accident. Without proof of this, the insurance company could argue that your injuries aren’t that severe or claim that they are the result of an unrelated incident.
• It can help you calculate and determine the compensation you are owed: The evidence you gather can also help you calculate and determine the amount of compensation you are owed for your economic and non-economic damages. For example, you can show your attorney your medical bills, prescription receipts, journal entries, and counselor notes to obtain an accurate estimate of how much compensation to pursue.

What types of evidence should you gather?

After an accident, there are several different types of evidence you should gather. If you were unable to or simply forgot to gather evidence at the scene of your accident, do not worry; you still have time to gather the necessary evidence you need. Your Vancouver, WA, car accident lawyer will use the evidence that supports your side of the story to build a claim that makes it difficult for the insurance company or defendant’s legal team to argue or dispute. Here are some of the types of evidence you and your attorney should gather:

• Photos: Images of the vehicles after the crash, photos of tire marks, leftover glass or debris, and broken traffic signs can help show what transpired. It is also a good idea to take photos of any obvious signs of injuries that you have, such as bruises, scratches, cuts, puncture wounds, and more.
• Video footage: Your attorney may try to identify any nearby businesses or homes with cameras that may have picked up footage of your accident. If there were, they would most likely speak with the business or homeowner to see if they would provide that footage to be used as evidence for your case. If your vehicle had a dash camera and it was recording at the time of the accident, you should let your attorney know right away. They may be able to hire someone to retrieve this footage, no matter how damaged the camera became during the crash.
• Witness statements: Your lawyer will most likely want to identify and interview potential witnesses who may have seen your crash. If you had any passengers in your car or remember seeing anyone close to your accident scene, your lawyer may try to track them down. They may even ask the businesses or people who reside near the accident scene whether they saw anything on the day of the crash. These statements may help support your version of the events.
• Medical records: Some of the medical records you should consider obtaining are doctor’s notes, imaging or diagnostic test results, surgery reports, check-in or discharge records, psychological or counseling paperwork, and more. This type of evidence will show what type of injuries you suffered, the severity of your injuries, and the medical treatment you received.
• The police report: If you called 9-1-1 and spoke with an officer after your accident, there is a strong possibility that a police report exists. Your attorney can help you request a copy of your police report from the Vancouver Police Department. This report will provide a clear explanation of what the responding officer saw and wrote down about your accident.
• Bills and documents: It is very important that you do not forget to obtain and include all bills and documents related to your accident, such as insurance policies, auto mechanic repair receipts, email or text message exchanges with the insurance company or anyone else, medical invoices, prescriptions, and more.
• Expert witness opinions: If you have a very challenging case, your lawyer may seek the opinion of an expert witness. Expert witnesses are professionals who have some type of experience, knowledge, or background in a field related to your accident. Their opinions can help prove liability, causation, losses, and more.
• Cell phone records: It is very common for a car accident to be caused by a distracted driver. In this case, your lawyer may need to request the defendant’s cell phone records, which may require a subpoena. Their cell phone records will help show whether they were on the phone or sending a text message at the time of the crash.

Dos and don’ts to help you gather the appropriate evidence for a Vancouver, WA, car accident case

The following are a few dos and don’ts to help you gather the appropriate evidence for a car accident case:

Dos & Don’ts:

• Do call the police. If you did not call the police and report the accident, you generally have four days after the accident to report it to authorities. This makes sure that there is a reliable police accident report on file. If you have missed this four-day window, you should speak with an attorney.
• Don’t put off seeking medical attention for too long. If you did not seek medical attention right after the accident, make sure you get medical attention as quickly as possible. This will make sure that there is a direct connection between the accident and your injuries.
• Don’t forget to write down any details regarding your accident. You should write as much information as you can possibly remember about the accident in a journal. Keeping a journal can help you remember details that you might forget over time.
• Do hire an attorney. An attorney will handle the ins and outs of your claim and make sure that you have the necessary evidence to win your case. Most accident victims experience difficulties when trying to obtain certain pieces of evidence, which is where an attorney can come in and assist you.

At Philbrook Law Office, we take all aspects of a car accident case very seriously. If you need help gathering evidence to support your car accident claim, our Vancouver, WA, car accident lawyers are ready and available to help. We know how important it is to build a strong case, establish fault, and prove your damages, which is why we are committed to assisting you with this entire process. Please call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a free case evaluation in Vancouver, WA, today. We also have offices in Portland, OR and Battle Ground, WA, for your convenience.