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Tips to Preserve Evidence for Car Accident Claims

May 30, 2022

Tips to Preserve Evidence for Car Accident Claims

Tips to Preserve Evidence for Car Accident Claims

A car accident is one of the life-altering events that can happen in a person’s life. If you sustained serious injuries due to the incident, it helps to know what steps to take when filing for car accident claims. Often, navigating a car accident insurance claims process is tricky. To successfully recover fair compensation for your injuries and medical expenses, you need to prove someone else was at fault for the accident.

Unfortunately, many insurance providers will deny valid claims and reduce settlement awards to make a profit. Taking immediate action to pursue compensation from the at-fault party means hiring a personal injury lawyer, obtaining evidence, and filing a car accident injury claim promptly. Gathering plenty of valuable information and preserving evidence helps strengthen your case during a personal injury claim investigation.

Why Do You Need to Gather Evidence?

Evidence helps build your car accident claim

In most cases, the burden of proof rests with the car accident victim. When seeking damages, it is your duty to establish that the legal responsibility for the accident belongs to the other party. Your burden of proof includes gathering sufficient evidence to clearly show that the negligence of the other driver has caused the crash, which resulted in your injuries.

How to Gather and Preserve Evidence for Your Personal Injury Claim

 Gather evidence ASAP before you lose them

Various pieces of evidence will be required to build and present a successful personal injury lawsuit following a car accident. However, certain information, such as data from the reconstruction of the car accident in Whitby, may be obtained with the help of a Whitby personal injury lawyer.

Most of the crucial evidence you need for your car accident case is found only at the crash site. While it is best to obtain the evidence as soon as possible, be sure to seek immediate medical treatment if you have been seriously injured. If you can, collect the following essential evidence at the scene of the wreck:

Request for a Police Report

One of the most critical pieces of evidence you need for your claim is a police report. When people report car accidents, an investigating officer will be sent to the crash scene. The police officer will make a written report containing important details about the accident, including:

  • vents that lead up to the accident
  • A diagram that demonstrates how the crash happened
  • Name of witnesses
  • Injuries sustained by the victims of the motor vehicle accident
  • Damage to the vehicles

The information obtained in the police report can help you show that another party is at fault.

Take Pictures and Videos While at the Accident Scene

If possible, take photographs and videos while you are at the scene of the accident using your smartphone or tablet. If you are not too injured to do so, take close-up shots of the damage in your vehicle and pictures of the crash scene. You can use the photographs and videos to provide evidence of damage, as well as proof to establish the fault or negligence of the other party.

In case you cannot capture photos immediately after the accident, have someone you trust take pictures and videos while you receive treatment in the hospital.

Secure a Traffic Camera Footage

There are plenty of traffic cameras found in the streets of Ontario. You can visit local businesses or residential buildings near the car crash scene and ask for surveillance tapes that showed the accident. It can show the negligent actions of the at-fault driver leading up to the crash. They could be making an illegal U-turn or not stopping at a red light. This can be used as substantial evidence that you did not have anything to do with the accident.

  • Obtain Eyewitness Contact Information

In most cases, there are people who will have witnessed the car crash. Make sure to obtain their names and contact information before leaving the scene. This enables you to get in touch with them when you need their testimony later. For instance, an eyewitness can provide information about how the at-fault party was driving erratically minutes before the collision. Having multiple eyewitnesses with the same statement can be utilized as solid evidence of the other driver’s fault.

Collect Medical Records

After seeing the doctor and getting treatment for injuries you suffered from the car accident, make sure to collect medical records and other documentation to establish your insurance claim. You will need to submit evidence of your injuries relevant medical records and related expenses, such as treatment, medications, and surgery, to the insurance company. Make sure to request copies from your healthcare provider along with your insurance claim. Be careful before signing a medical authorization form from the insurance company, as it can be used to access your older records and find a reason to deny your claim. It is recommended you obtain independent legal advice prior to signing any authorization forms.

Produce Car Maintenance Records

Presenting proof of your regular car maintenance can help establish that the accident was not caused by the failure of your vehicle. In some cases, a defective component in the car engine may contribute to a car crash.

Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer

Filing a car accident claim can be a complicated process, especially if you are doing it on your own. Hiring an accident claims lawyer from a reliable personal injury firm, who can guide you through the process, can help lift the burden off your shoulders. Choose a personal injury lawyer with years of experience in representing car accident victims and gathering crucial evidence to prove your case before it gets destroyed or lost.

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The car accident lawyers at Michelle Linka Law have provided legal services to many accident victims in Whitby, Richmond Hill, Peterborough, and elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car crash accident, give us a call today at (905) 448-7810, or submit our online contact form and find out how our trusted personal injury lawyers can help you with your car accident claim.

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