How To Collect Evidence for Your Car Accident

At Greer Injury Lawyers,  PLLC, we have nearly 20 years of experience fighting for car accident victims in Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas. There are many ways that we help you collect the evidence you need to show that another driver is liable, and the full scope and severity of your injuries. Victims of car accidents can help collect evidence in many ways.

How our lawyers collect evidence for your car accident claim

We work with investigators, traffic reconstruction experts, product safety experts, and others to show how your car accident happened. Our team also coordinates with your doctors and our network of doctors, if necessary, to verify your injuries, determine what medical care you need, and how your injuries are affecting every part of your life. Your Memphis car accident lawyer can also work with your employer and financial experts to verify all your income losses. We also seek support from other experts when necessary.

Our lawyers formally question the defendants and witnesses to learn what they know about the accident and to help show whether their court testimony is credible. We seek relevant records and documents, such as the insurance coverage of the driver and any other defendants.

We help collect evidence in other ways, too, depending on the liability and damage issues.

How clients can help collect car accident evidence

If you are injured at an accident site, your first priority is your safety. If you have a serious injury of any type, you should arrange to seek care from the nearest emergency room or your family doctor. Ideally, a police officer or someone with you will make the arrangements for you.

To the extent you can or the people with you can, you should seek the following information (depending on the type of accident that caused your injuries).

• The contact information for everyone involved.
  • If you have a car accident, then you want to collect the names and addresses of the drivers. You also want to obtain their registration, insurance, and driver’s license information. Normally, the police will collect this information if they’re called to the scene of the accident.
  • If you slip and fall at a restaurant or another business, you want to get the contact information for any witnesses and the manager of the restaurant or other business.
  • In other cases, like medical malpractice cases, we can obtain the contact information for you.
• Photographs of the victims. Victims should have someone take photos of themselves to show their injuries and their emotional trauma. These photos are meant to show you with all of your pain, bruises, and bleeding. They’re not meant to show you at your best.
• Photographs of the accident site. If you’re in a car accident, then it helps to have photos of the accident site and the damage to the cars involved in the accident. If you slip and fall, then it helps to have photos of the reason for the fall, such as loose cables or broken tiles.
• If you have any videos of the vehicle accident, such as on your dashcam, you should take steps to preserve those videos. Normally, if you have any type of vehicle accident, our investigators will ask any witnesses, nearby businesses, or nearby homeowners if they have any videos of the accident. If you have a slip-and-fall accident, we can inquire whether the property owner has any camera footage.
• Medical documentation. You’ll likely be seeing many different doctors and healthcare providers to diagnose and treat your injuries. You should keep a journal of the medical providers you see, the names of the people treating you, and the date of the treatments. You should also keep a record of all your medical prescriptions and over-the-counter medical purchases.

Our Memphis personal injury lawyers use this information to obtain a full record of your medical bills and treatments. We also work with your doctors to obtain medical reports verifying your injuries, the full range of medical care you need, and all the ways your injuries are affecting your life. Generally, your primary care doctor or the main specialist treating you will also have the full record of your medical care if you forget to or can’t keep a record of your appointments. Your pharmacist should have a record of your medication purchases.

• Pay information. You should keep copies of your tax returns and pay stubs to help verify your income losses. At Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC, we also work with your employer to obtain these records.
• You should save any communications from any insurance contacts who contact you. Other than notifying your own insurance carrier that you had an accident, all communications from insurance companies should be handled by our lawyers. We can make sure the insurance companies understand that.

Some of the steps you avoid to limit what evidence the insurance companies can obtain

Just as you and our lawyers work to obtain evidence to help your claim, the defendants (and their insurance carriers and lawyers) will be seeking evidence to support their claim. We can review the evidence they may seek.

Generally, the insurance companies have the right to review your medical records – by contacting our lawyers. We can review with you whether you should keep a journal of your pain and suffering, depending on your physical and emotional trauma, and other factors.

You should not discuss your case on social media. It’s best to stop posting altogether until your case is resolved because insurance companies and defense lawyers will be looking for anything that can affect your credibility. Seemingly innocent posts could hurt you. For example, a post showing you holding your child could hurt your claim that you have a bad back or shoulder pain. You should speak to family members and friends about stopping any posts about you while your case is pending, too.

You should not get rid of any evidence you have. That evidence, such as the blood-stained shirt or blouse you were wearing when the accident happened, can help your case. On the other hand, destroying or deleting evidence can hurt your case because the insurance company can argue that the evidence you deleted would benefit their client.

The best course of action after any type of accident or improper medical care is to contact our Memphis personal injury lawyers as soon as possible. We can collect the evidence to support your case and review how you can help. Call us now or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC, has 20 years of experience fighting for injured clients.