If you recently got in a car accident, you may be seriously considering filing a lawsuit to deal with the aftermath. All claims in lawsuits are supported by evidence. As a rule, the more evidence you have to support your claim, the more likely it is that you will get a successful outcome for your case. Accordingly, you may be wondering how you can get the most evidence possible for your car accident claim or lawsuit.
The most common way that people get evidence for a lawsuit is through the efforts of their attorney. However, any compiling of evidence that you do supplementally can be a tremendous boon to the success of your case, as it bolsters your argument and cuts down on investigation time that can now be used for other things, like preparing a case for trial or refining your claim.
For a free review of your car accident matters, call our Arkansas car accident lawyers at (479) 316-0438.
Ways to Gather Evidence After a Car Accident in Arkansas
Gathering evidence after a car accident can happen in a number of different ways. Ideally, you want to try and do all of these things so that you have the best support possible for your car accident claim. However, you should not be disheartened if you do not do some of these things. A strong case can still be made with whatever evidence you start out with, and over the course of a car accident lawsuit, you may be able to find or obtain evidence that you did not have access to beforehand.
Right After the Accident
One of the best ways to get evidence for a car accident lawsuit is to get information right after the accident happens. This is when the events that took place will be freshest in everyone’s mind, and there is little room to convincingly fabricate something so close in time to the accident. Right after you are involved in a car accident, the first thing you need to do is record the name, license plate, and insurance information of any other driver involved in the accident. All of the drivers’ insurance companies will likely be involved in any lawsuit in some capacity, so that is important information to have. You should also take as many photos and videos as you can of the accident and the immediate area. This can later serve as evidence of how much damage was done to your vehicle, and expert witnesses may be able to glean other information from these records that is not immediately obvious. Finally, try and interview or get a statement from any eyewitnesses who saw the accident. Their testimony can potentially be very helpful to your case, and it is much more persuasive as an immediate recounting of the accident rather than a recollection perhaps years later.
Of course, this is not possible for some plaintiffs because of the extent of their injuries. A seriously injured person is not going to have the luxury of taking photos and videos and asking people questions. They are going to be taken to the hospital.
Additionally, even with very diligent personal evidence gathering, some information may not be readily available right after the accident. For example, if the car involved in your accident sped away in a hit-and-run, you will likely not be able to get their personal information. Similarly, if conduct on the part of another driver helped to cause the accident, that may not come to light until much later.
Obtain Reports and Records
While quite a substantial bit of information can be obtained right after the accident, other evidence and details need to be obtained from other places. Probably the most obvious kind of evidence that needs to be obtained after the fact is medical records detailing the extent of your injuries and how you were treated for them. Naturally, that information is not going to be present until you are taken to a hospital or other medical facility and receive treatment. Therefore, you or our lawyers will need to reach out to the relevant medical provider in order to get this information.
Another thing that may not be able to be obtained until after the accident is a police report. While a police report is based on your statement right after the accident, you will not have a copy of it on hand until you ask for it. Therefore, you need to get in contact with the police station to get a copy of your report. Generally, police reports are not used as direct evidence in lawsuits. However, they can be invaluable for other reasons, such as helping insurance companies determine liability or informing your legal arguments. Additionally, if any responding police officers are called to testify in your lawsuit, their testimony may be based on the police report.
Talking to Our Lawyers
Finally, you can get help obtaining evidence for your car accident claim by talking to our Bella Vista, AR car accident lawyers. An attorney can do many of the tasks discussed previously in this section. There are several benefits to this. First, having our lawyers do the heavy lifting for gathering evidence and working on your case lets you focus on important things like recovering from any injuries you received. Second, attorneys are trained professionals who have honed a particular set of skills that makes them effective at collecting evidence. Finally, many parties that may be harsh towards a layperson asking for information may be more willing to cooperate with a formal request from an attorney.
Speak with Our Arkansas Car Accident Lawyers Today
Our Conway, AR car accident lawyers can help you with your case when you call us at (479) 316-0438.