How to Best Support your Car Accident Claim?
How to Support Your Auto Accident Claim?
Third party witnesses are the most powerful evidence you have to support your auto accident claim.
In addition to eyewitness accounts of the accident, police reports, signs of visible property damage, photographs, videos, medical records and bills are all critical elements to building the strength of your claim.
If you've been injured in an auto accident, it's important to seek medical attention from an Auto Accident Chiropractor.
In this blog, we discuss why third-party eyewitnesses are important for your car accident case, and how to gather those witness statements.
There is often alot of confusion in regards to car accident injuries. Read our blog post, 3 Common Myths About Car Accident Injuries, to learn more.
If you were involved in a car collision building a credible car accident claim involves proving negligence.
Why Are Third-party Witnesses Relevant To My Case?
Witness statements can be substantial evidence of fault.
Third-party witnesses are pivotal to your case because they remain dissociated and impartial.
On the other hand, reports coming from drivers and their passengers are biased because they have a stake in the result.
Neutral witnesses are people who just happened to be in the vicinity of the accident scene and don’t have a personal or financial interest in the outcome.
For your personal injury claim to result in triumph, you must prove your injuries were caused by the negligent acts of another person or entity, referred to as the at-fault party.
Gathering third-party witness statements for your auto accident claim is key in proving your case.
Other evidence that is powerful to your auto accident claim:
Police accident reports
Visible property damage, photographs, and videos
Medical records and bills
Drivers’ and passengers’ statements
How to Gather Witness Statements
Your first plan of action after an accident must be to get medical attention for your injuries. Always put your health and well-being ahead of worrying about gathering evidence.
If a claimant worsens their injuries, by moving around after an accident in an attempt to collect evidence, it can hurt their claim; however, if you are physically able, you should take steps to help your future claim.
When you find a moment after your accident gather a camera, pen, and something to write on. If you don’t have a digital camera handy, use your cell phone camera. Proposition people who may have been a bystander to the incident. Identify yourself, and ask if anyone saw the accident. If so, politely instruct them to recite what they saw and heard.
Identifying Eyewitnesses
Drivers and occupants of other cars involved in the accident
People who stopped to render aid,
Adjacent business owners, employees, and customers
Road and utility workers, passerby
Stay Neutral When Addressing Witnesses
When conversing with a potential witness, never argue your side of the story or use language that makes them feel you are trying to manipulate him or her.
This can quickly intimidate people and deter them from giving detailed witness statements.
Simply ask the witness to write down as much as they can recall as to what they saw happened.
If he or she can’t or won’t, it’s okay to write it down for them.
How should witness statements be recorded?
The witness does not have to write his statement in legal format
The type or paper used does not matter
The statement does not need to be notarized or witnessed, anyone who witnesses the accident can write a report.
When your witnesses are finished preparing their testimonies, take a photograph of each witness holding their statement in front.
Include their home address, telephone numbers, and email address information at the end.
In the event, a witness happens to be in a rush, and cannot take the time to document what they saw, take down their name and contact information.
You can request a detailed statement later when it's convenient for them.
Other Ways to Gather Eyewitness Testimonies
Additional witness testimony for supporting your traffic accident claim can be located in store surveillance video and ATM camera footage.
Store Surveillance - If your auto crash occurred outside of a store, many times outside video cameras record up to several hundred feet away from the source.
Using video footage in your traffic accident claim is one of the purest forms of witness testimony and provides undeniable truth to your case.
ATMs- Many ATM’s are fitted with two cameras, one for close-ups, and another to record the surrounding environment.
Take advantage of your resources, if your accident took place at a bank or business with an ATM outside, the incident may have been recorded.
Regrettably, the chance is high that a bank will deny you access to ATM footage. To gain access to the footage, you’ll likely need an attorney serve the bank a subpoena.
Police Officers- Responding police officers are trained to preserve evidence.
Police will accept statements from witnesses at the scene, but won’t hunt down witnesses to gather evidence.
This part is up to you, so make sure you give any witness statements you collect to the police officer, and ask for it to be included in the accident report.
You will need to obtain your copy of the report days later.
Before the officer leaves assemble his badge numbers, the service number of the report, and the officers’ names.
Car and truck accidents are one of the leading causes of personal injury in Georgia.
At Arrowhead clinics, through careful chiropractic and medical care, we tailor our treatments to address each patient's unique conditions, pain levels, and needs.
Also, we can refer you to some of Georgia's most trusted Personal Injury Attorneys who can help support your Car Accident Injury Claims.