5 Prime Sources Of Evidence In A Car Accident Case

Posted on: 8 April 2015

Are you trying to research some of the ways that car accident attorneys deal with the aftermath of a traffic accident? Here are some of the ways that these legal professionals will gather evidence in the course of their work supporting their clients.

Aside from things like researching local ordinances and case precedent, car accident attorneys often act a little like detectives. They're looking for evidence that supports their client's version of what happened on the road. In many cases, attorneys will look at these critical sources of evidence to put together a case.

The Police Report

A police report may be somewhat of a "controlling document" for an accident. It represents the documentation done by first responders at the scene. That's why it's so important to be represented on a police report, and why accident victims should talk to police directly after an accident, to provide their story. In some cases, the police report is the only documented record that anyone walks away with from the scene.

Witness Testimony

As in all types of other legal cases, witness testimony is critically important. Any eyewitnesses to an accident should be called on to give their own written or spoken testimony to legal teams.

Physical Evidence

If there's no one to talk about what happened at the scene, lawyers can also develop evidence based on some of what's left behind. One common example is the skid marks on the road, by which experts can tell a lot about the speed that cars were traveling, whether they had control of vehicles, whether they left the road or changed lanes, etc. Broken glass or car parts can also tell part of the story.

Vehicles

Lawyers and insurance professionals may also inspect vehicles to figure out more about how an accident happened. By looking at the extent of the damage, they can deduce certain facts about the crash.

Medical Evidence

This last category can be part of looking at a general car accident case, but it also is critically important in proving that the injury victim needs money for care and recovery. That's why lawyers counsel their clients to keep careful records of doctors they've seen and what they've said, as well as any treatment or services they've received. In time, this will be very important documentation as the case makes its way through local courts.

Car accident lawyers can use all of these resources in their proactive research and fact-finding to support their clients. To learn more, contact a company like Fonvielle, Lewis, Foote & Messer with any questions or concerns you have.

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