Q: Once I’ve given you the details of my car accident, how do you establish my case?
First, we gather the physical evidence. We get the police report if there is one and then other evidence, such as pictures of the accident and any witness statements that are available, as well as your statement of how the accident happened.
We also obtain medical records starting from when you were hit.
Depending on the type of accident, we occasionally will send accident reconstruction experts to the scene, especially when the case is advancing towards litigation.
When they’re available, it’s important to get recordings of the 911 calls of the people in the accident and witnesses who reported it to help establish that our client’s account if the accident is correct. Sometimes witnesses to the accident will describe key details to the 911 operator supporting that the other driver was responsible for the car accident. Because the calls aren’t available forever, it’s important to meet with an attorney as soon as possible.
We’ve had many cases where the car accident happened in front of a business or on a busy street, which made it possible to get surveillance video of the actual accident. For example, in a recent case, a commercial truck came into our client’s lane, collided with her car and spun her client into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head-on collision and significant injuries. The truck driver denied that there was contact with our client’s vehicle and we were able to get video surveillance from a nearby factory, which clearly showed that the truck came into our client’s lane, hit her vehicle and caused the accident.
Surveillance video is always something to look into, especially now that it seems that there are video cameras everywhere.
Q: Can I still sue if I’m a passenger in the car?
Yes. If you’re injured as a passenger in a car, you still have the right as an injury victim to seek compensation against the driver who’s at fault. This is the case whether the accident was caused by another driver, by your driver, or both.