Proving Your Car Accident Claim

If you’ve been in a car accident, you may be entitled to damages from the person or company that caused your injuries. Sadly, proving these damages can be difficult if the other driver’s insurance company denies responsibility for what happened and refuses to settle your claim. 

Worse, proving your car accident claim can be difficult, especially when you’re hurt and need help. 

If you need to investigate the circumstances surrounding the car accident and don’t know where to turn for legal representation, the lawyers of Gibbs & Crivelli, Slingshot Law can help. Here are some steps you can take to prove your car accident claim. 

Gather Evidence After the Crash

While you’re still at the accident scene, if you’re able, take photos of any injuries you sustained in the collision. It’s important that they’re well lit so that details can be seen clearly in them later when it’s time to file your claim.

It’s a good idea to photograph the accident scene itself, too, such as skid marks and damage to any nearby mailboxes or telephone poles. These can be used in accident reconstruction later by expert witnesses. Their testimony can help you prove the other driver caused the accident and hurt you.  

Get a statement from any witnesses, then speak with the officer that responded to the accident and ask them for a police report. If law enforcement needs to investigate the collision, it can sometimes take up to 30 days to get a police report. In such situations, you may want to inform them that you have secured legal representation and that your lawyers will be in touch.

Keep Medical Records Organized

Obtain your medical records and keep them organized and up to date. This will allow your lawyers to easily find information about the treatment that you received and any tests that have been performed on you. 

Keep copies of all of the medical records in a safe place. Ideally, this would be a fireproof safe or some other type of safe which cannot be accessed by others without authorization. Records and data can be easily destroyed or otherwise lost, so security and even backup copies of your documents are vital. 

You can also compile evidence by keeping a daily log of your condition and how the auto collision is affecting your life. For example, write down what you did each day, what symptoms you experienced, and how they affected you. This is especially important if you can’t work and plan to collect compensation for lost wages.

Get Legal Representation

It’s important for you to be as thorough as possible in support of your statement about what happened because without evidence showing that someone else was at fault, proving your car accident claim will be difficult, if not impossible. 

The more you investigate yourself and the better prepared you are, the better your lawyers will be able to negotiate with insurance representatives about payment amounts. Call Gibbs & Crivelli, Slingshot Law at 800-488-7840 or contact us online to discuss your case.