How to Collect and Preserve Evidence for a Personal Injury Claim

 In any civil personal injury claim, whether it stems from a car accident or slip-and-fall accident etc., the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. If you have been injured in a car accident, the law requires you to prove that the other party (the defendant) was negligent and therefore caused the incident and your injuries. In a car accident, examples of negligence include drunk driving, distracted driving, violating the rules of the road such as making an unsafe turn, failing to yield the right of way or blowing through a red light or stop sign.

What is Evidence?
In order to prove negligence, you need evidence that will show a judge or jury that the defendant caused your injuries. Preserving evidence of the defendant’s negligence is a critical part of your personal injury process. The quality and quantity of the evidence you gather and preserve during the process can make the difference between a minimum personal injury settlement and a substantial one. An insurance claims adjuster is not likely to offer you a settlement unless he or she sees hard evidence that the individual or entity they insured was responsible for your injuries.
Such evidence in a personal injury claim requires items such as:
• Medical records including, but not limited to, doctors’ and nurses’ notes, test results, your doctor’s diagnosis and prognosis, emergency room admission charts, etc.
• Eyewitness statements
• Photographs from the scene of the accident, which show the surrounding area, the exact location where the incident occurred or how it occurred, your injuries, spills on the roadway etc.
• Police reports or incident reports
• Physical evidence such as torn or bloody clothing
• Public records such as police citations or summonses
• Your own account of the incident
Some of the Challenges
Collecting and preserving evidence can often prove challenging for accident victims. For example, if you are severely injured in a car crash or in a slip-and-fall accident etc. and need immediate medical attention, you may not be able to take photographs of the scene. In such cases, it is a good idea to get a family member or friend to head out to the scene and collect critical evidence including photographs and copies of incident reports.
If you suspect that a driver who was texting or talking on the phone hit you, his or her cell phone carrier will not hand you those records that can help prove the driver was distracted at the time of the crash. Similarly, in a truck accident, the trucking firm will do everything in its power to ensure that you don’t obtain crucial information such as driver logs, maintenance records or cell phone records. Often times, the at-fault party will attempt to destroy the evidence just to throw a wrench into your claims process. Having a skilled attorney on your side to guide and handle your claim or litigation process will prove invaluable to its outcome.
How an Injury Lawyer Can Help
A personal injury lawyer can send a letter to prevent this type of evidence destruction from happening by sending what is known as a “spoliation letter.” Such correspondence puts the potential defendant on notice making it difficult for them to argue that they “accidentally” got rid of the evidence. If your accident was caused by a defective product or equipment, it is critical to preserve the item that caused your injuries so it can be thoroughly examined for manufacturing defects and design flaws.
An experienced lawyer will be able to obtain and preserve evidence that ordinary people may struggle to get. You also want to retain the services of a lawyer who is well versed in the tactics insurance companies choose to adopt to prevent you from getting the settlement you deserve. If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, you may be entitled to receive compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, permanent injury, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. For over 49 years, our skilled accident attorneys have a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a man who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com