How does a Lawyer Prove who is at fault after a Car Accident?

When you get in a car accident, you have to make sure that all of your ducks are in a row. Check for injuries, check for witnesses, check to see that the other driver is present, etc. However, a mistake that a lot of drivers make when in a car accident is that they do not think about the potential car accident claim that was to come. As such, they fail to gather an adequate amount of evidence in the moment, weakening said claim as a result. If you do file a claim and retain a lawyer, how does your lawyer prove who is at fault after a car accident?

How does a lawyer prove fault after a car accident?

Proving fault can be a little complicated, though more or less based on the strength of the evidence you were able to gather at the scene of the accident. If you are involved in a car accident, one of the first things you should do is assess any damages you have sustained. Cuts, bruises, anything. If you have sustained such injuries, document them and take pictures of them (assuming you are able). Assuming you are able to move without issue, you should also identify any damage your vehicle sustained. Take pictures of any new dents, scratches, broken glass, etc. If there is any paint that scraped off of the other vehicle’s exterior, that is a great piece of evidence to demonstrate that the other driver was the one who, in fact, collided with your vehicle. Also, make sure to call the police unless the damage is only minor. If injuries were sustained, damage was substantial, or death was involved, most states require that you file a police report. However, even if it is minor damage, having a police report to serve as an independent report on the accident. In an insurance claim, it may prove more difficult to get a payout if the only evidence going for you, is your own perspective.

However, a lot of the evidence gathering you do is mainly to lay the groundwork for the lawyer you eventually hire. When your attorney decides to take your case, they will do some investigatory work themselves. Possibly less if you have done a solid job collecting evidence, but in all likelihood, you certainly missed some evidence here or there. One of the reasons for this is because most people do not have a trained eye for the kinds of thing they should look out for. Another reason is that a person who was just in a car accident may not have been in the best of states, and as such, may have overlooked something that they would not have missed in other situations.

A concept that most drivers should be familiar with is that of the “right of way.” This road rule is, more or less, the determining factor in precedence for pedestrians and drivers on the road. The identity of the person who has the right of way in the moment will ultimately be determined by certain circumstances. For instance, while a pedestrian using the crosswalk has the right of way, they do not have the right of way when running into the highway. Of course, that does not mean that drivers do not have a good-faith obligation to yield for pedestrians, even if they are behaving recklessly. This is due to the fact that not yielding to a pedestrian confers significantly higher risk for the pedestrian than it would if they were in a car. Ultimately, if a lawyer can demonstrate to the court — or to the defendant’s lawyer — that you had the right of way in the accident and the defendant was not, it would do a terrible amount of harm to their case. This can be used to get a solid settlement offer straight out of the gates.

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For all the evidence you can gather at the scene, a lawyer can gather proof that you could never have gleaned. Technology is an amazing thing, and it is making it that much easier to figure these kinds of things out than ever before. For example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) can be used to prove that the defendant was at the scene at the time and date that the accident is reported to occur. However, that is not the only use that a GPS can provide. A GPS can even provide records of how fast a person was driving. If they were speeding at the time, that could be the nail in the coffin for their case, as it is proof that they were driving recklessly. The lawyer may also subpoena the defendant’s phone records to see if they were using their phone when the accident occurred. This is not guaranteed to be the case and is probably not going to be the case. However, if you can get a hold of those records, it may prove to be a veritable smoking gun for your case.

An emerging piece of technology is called wearable technology, such as the Fitbit and the Apple Watch. Some wearable technology tracks certain things, such as if someone’s health condition has changed. This could be a good asset to show in the event that the defendant counterclaims for damages. It is not a foolproof method, but it may show to the court that their damage claims are not corroborated by the data.

Of course, a car accident is not the simplest situation to handle, and that can even apply to determining fault. It is entirely possible that despite you not being at fault, the person you crashed into was not at fault either. This is because there are car accidents where three or more cars are involved, which may overcomplicate fault. A team of experienced car accident lawyers will be able to determine the possible culpable party a lot more easily, however, so that should not be a hard stop on your claim. It just may make things more complicated for a while.