Sarasota Injury Law Blog

Why should I consult with a Sarasota Bradenton auto or car accident lawyer immediately after an accident? Because it is critical to preserve evidence of your injury claim. The first thing to do in any injury claim is to find evidence and preserve it from loss, destruction or alteration. Protecting evidence in a personal injury accident is paramount to the survivability of the claim. You must identify witnesses who can help prove your claim to an insurance company.

The initial days after an accident are often the most important for identifying and preserving evidence of what happened and documenting any injuries. You should take the following steps immediately.

Go to the Scene

If an accident occurred, go back to the scene immediately to find any evidence and photograph any conditions that caused or contributed to the accident. You may be surprised to find something you did not previously notice when the accident occurred but which may help explain what happened. Perhaps like an uneven walking surface with a sudden and significant change in elevation on which you fell. Also, while looking around you may find witnesses who say they saw what happened or know of other similar accidents that happened in the manner or location.

Photograph the accident scene from many different angles and distances –particularly your view of things right before the accident — to keep it fresh in your mind and to give to the insurance adjuster later on to indicate how thoroughly prepared you are to justify a settlement. Take pictures of the scene close in time as it was on the day you were hurt, and for vehicle accidents, the same week day, to show the amount of traffic that existed.

Preserve Physical Evidence

Determining who was at fault for an accident is often shown by a piece of “physical” evidence — something you can see or touch, as opposed to a story about what happened. Examples include a the damaged tires and rims from hitting a very large pothole in a parking lot, the dent in a car showing the point of contact, or a inch wide crack in the sidewalk causing a sudden change in elevation while walking.

In addition, tangible evidence can help prove the severity of an injury: Damage to an automobile can show how hard a collision was. Bruises and cuts can show your physical injuries dramatically. Try to protect and preserve all physical evidence exactly as it was at the time of the accident. If you can’t preserve the actual evidence, document it with photos. Then later you will be able to show your evidence to an insurance company to prove your version of the event.

Getting Good Photographs

Here are some ways to save evidence with photographs: There is no substitute for getting plenty of photos and you should err on the side of too many, not too few. Take them from several different angles so that you can later pick out the best ones that show the most clearly whatever it is you want to convey the most to the insurance adjuster.

Take the photos immediately without any delay so that they will accurately show the condition of the physical evidence immediately after the accident. To establish the date the photos were taken, get the film developed rightaway and make sure the photo vendor indicates the date on the front or back of the prints.

Find Witnesses

Witnesses can be critical to you in making your case to an insurance company. They may be able to testify about an accident that confirms what you say happened, thus confirming your story. Also, they might have information you did not know about but which shows how the adverse party was at fault. Even a witness who did not observe the actual accident may have all the post accident evidence and see you soon after you were injured and can confirm that you were hurt. Or, a witness may have heard a statement made by another person involved in the accident indicating that someone other than you was at fault. But time is critical. If witnesses are not contacted and their information verified soon after the accident, what they have to say may not be preserved. People forget quickly, and soon their recollections may become so distant that they are no longer helpful. Also, a witness may have moved if you wait too long; people move frequently.

Record Your Injuries

The best ways to protect evidence of your injuries are by promptly reporting all of them to your medical provider(s), and by photographing any visible signs of injuries such as marks, cuts, bruises, or swelling. Also take pictures of any medical devices such as casts, splints, bandages, or other devices. Without medial documentation of all your injuries, and photos if possible, it will be harder to later convince an insurance company that you were injured in the manner and to the extent you claim you were. Over time visible injuries may heal and may not look as serious later, and failing to seek immediate treatment can cause an insurance company to disbelieve your injuries were so serious, or even that you invented or exaggerated them after the accident.

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