Serious car accidents generate serious damages and losses for wrongfully injured victims. Factors like hospital bills, medical expenses, and missed work can leave a car accident survivor drowning in out-of-pocket costs and payment responsibilities. Managing post-accident debt or financial struggles while physically and emotionally suffering and recovering from injuries makes the legal process even more stressful and confusing for car accident victims.
Sadly, car accident victims must fight for their rights to being fully compensated by the at-fault driver’s insurance company, especially since insurance companies always fight to pay out as little as possible. In order to do so, they will have to prove their losses by providing evidence to support their claim.
Continue reading to learn some examples of evidence that can be used in a personal injury car accident claim, plus how to ensure your case is successful.
Personal Injury Evidence for Car Accidents
When it comes to recovering a settlement for your damages and losses after being injured in a car accident that was not your fault, it is important to understand that you, the claimant, hold the burden of proof. This means you are responsible for proving the extent of your damages and losses, including your medical bills, related medical expenses, missed paychecks at work, and so forth.
Although some of these are evidence in and of themselves, there are other types of evidence you will need to gather and have available for your Indiana car accident lawyer in order to prove your personal injuries and recover a settlement that is appropriate for your claim. It is vital to hire a skilled and qualified personal injury law firm to represent your case. They will have the knowledge and resources to gather all available kinds of evidence relevant to your case and recover the full and fair settlement you deserve for your damages and losses.
Approved Forms of Car Accident Evidence
Personal injury evidence that works well to support a victim’s claim are tangible, certified, quantifiable, and official. These can be things like records, documents, videos, photos, witness statements, interrogatories, depositions, and more.
Police Reports
In a recent blog, we discussed the importance of always making a police report after car accident. A police report is one of the most useful types of personal injury evidence because it is written objectively by a trusted and qualified authority. It helps to prove fault in a car accident, plus confirm other details of an accident that are pertinent to an injured victim’s personal injury claim. Police reports and car accident reports are important records to have in a personal injury case, regardless of which side you are on.
Medical Records and Payment Receipts
Along with police and car accident reports, more critically important types of personal injury evidence to organize and gather for your case are medical records and medical payment receipts. Not only do you need to prove that your injuries are legitimate, and you’ve been taking the responsible actions to have your injuries treated by certified medical professionals, but you also want to demonstrate that you been paying out-of-pocket for your medical expenses and hospital bills. Your medical payment receipts will be a quantifiable catalog of evidence that you can apply to your case to prove your damages.
Videos and Photographs
Scene of the accident evidence is also important in a personal injury car accident case. Videos and photographs of the surrounding road and landscaping, street signs, property damages, vehicular damage, physical and visible injuries, and anything else related can be useful for proving an injured victim’s car accident claim. Another type of video evidence commonly used in personal injury car accident cases is surveillance video. Local gas stations, retail stores, shopping centers, and office buildings that are equipped with 24 hour surveillance can catch accidents in live action.
Injury and Property Damage Documentation
As just described, documentation of the scene of the accident is important evidence to have a personal injury car accident case. Injury documentation can include pictures and videos of your physical injuries or related struggles, as well as your medical records and hospital bills. Property damage documentation will include police report, pictures of vehicular damage, and appraisals for repair or replacement of the damaged vehicle.
Eyewitness Testimonies
Another type of personal injury car accident evidence is eyewitness testimony. Therefore, it’s important to gather contact information from onlookers who saw your car accident. This includes their name, address, phone number, email address, and if willing, even their place of employment. Witnesses can provide testimony to support your damages and losses following a wrongful car accident. Expert witnesses, like accident reconstruction specialists, engineers, physicians, and similar professionals, may also be asked for their testimonies. Your lawyer will determine if expert witnesses are necessary for your claim.
Interrogatories and Depositions
Personal injury witness testimony does not always stop at eyewitnesses and reconstruction specialists. In some car accident cases, lawyers will use interrogatories to get information, truthful information under oath, from the other driver in the accident. This is considered a type of witness testimony used as evidence in a personal injury car accident case. Depositions are another form of out-of-court testimony approved as reliable evidence in an accident case. They are given under oath, plus recorded by a court transcriber.
Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer in Indiana
Keep in mind that every personal injury case is different, and not all forms of car accident evidence will be approved as proof of a claimant’s damages. Again, this is why it’s important to have a seasoned Indiana car accident lawyer working your case; they know exactly how to identify the best types of personal injury evidence for a victim’s claim and apply it to the best of their benefit.
Are you an injured victim of a wrongful car accident in Indiana? Contact the Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to schedule a no-risk, no-fee personal injury consultation with a skilled car accident attorney and discuss your rights to pursue legal action against the at-fault driver. We represent clients all throughout the state, and there is no need to travel. We can hold consults over the phone or via online video conference.
Related Posts:
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What Do I Say to Insurance Adjusters After Being Injured in a Car Accident?
Can I Still Sue the Other Driver if My Car Accident Injuries Were Not Apparent at the Scene?