If you’ve been injured in a car accident, hospital bills and vehicle repair costs may have taken a sizeable bite out of your savings. With the help of a car wreck injury attorney in San Antonio, you have a chance of recovering these losses as long as the at-fault driver acted with negligence. Let’s look at how you and your attorney can prove the other driver was driving carelessly or recklessly when they caused the crash.
How Is Negligence Proven in a Car Wreck Injury Case?
Negligent driving is driving without due care and attention, thereby putting other drivers at risk. Examples of negligent driving are texting or eating while driving, tailgating another car, driving when tired, cornering too quickly, speeding, failing to signal when turning, or breaking any other traffic code.
Some kinds of driver negligence, such as drunk driving or excessive speeding, are considered reckless negligence deserving of punitive damages. Failing to properly maintain your vehicle also puts other drivers at risk and may be considered negligence.
Evidence Is Key
After suffering a car wreck injury, you’ll only be able to recover damages from the at-fault party if you can prove they caused the accident through negligent driving. But the other driver might deny liability for the accident, tell a completely different story of events, or even accuse you of causing the accident and file their own counterclaim.
To deal with disputed negligence, evidence is key. You must gather sufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the other driver was negligent. If you’re not sure where to begin, it’s wise to consult with a lawyer. Experienced car accident attorneys are specialists at building strong cases based on mountains of evidence (visit this page for an example). Here are some of the most common types of evidence that you or your attorney might use to strengthen your case:
The Police Report
Following an accident, it’s important to call the police right away. The officer will file a police report, which you can later use to support your claim. The police report will describe the accident, vehicle positions, eyewitness statements, and sometimes even the officer’s thoughts on who caused the crash.
Eyewitness Testimony
If anyone nearby saw the crash, their statements or testimony may later become invaluable in proving the other driver’s negligence. But onlookers have a tendency to drift away from an accident scene, so while you wait for the police officer to arrive, speak to any nearby eyewitnesses and politely attempt to get their contact details. Your attorney can contact them later to request a statement.
Photos and Videos
Take detailed photos and videos at the scene of an accident, before the vehicles are moved. Photographic evidence should include every aspect of the crash and road conditions, including the vehicle positions, any vehicle damage, the other driver, debris on the road like broken glass, nearby road signs, weather conditions, and injuries.
Also, ask eyewitnesses if they captured videos of the accident. In today’s age of continuous smartphone usage, you never know your luck. Dash cams are also increasingly popular; an eyewitness in another vehicle may have captured the incident on their dashboard camera.
Admission of Negligence
Sometimes the at-fault driver admits to negligence at the scene of the accident. They may admit to their fault while apologizing to you or answering the police officer’s questions.
For an oral admission to serve as evidence, either the police officer or a third-party witness will need to have heard it. Once the other driver has spoken to an attorney, they may deny ever having spoken the words.
Surveillance Camera Footage
In the days and weeks after the accident, there may still be a good deal more evidence to be found. If any surveillance cameras captured the accident, your attorney may be able to get hold of the recording.
Expert Witness Testimony
When liability or negligence is disputed, expert witness testimony can often save the day. The most common expert witness in car crash cases is an accident reconstruction expert. Such an expert can create visual aids such as a timeline or 3D model to show a jury precisely how the sequence of events unfolded.
Criminal Convictions
When gross negligence such as speeding or drunk driving causes the at-fault driver to be arrested, they may well be facing criminal investigations. Most of the time, the criminal case will be tried and concluded before you can proceed with your civil claim or lawsuit. In this situation, your attorney would only need to produce evidence of the other driver’s criminal conviction to prove negligence.
How a Car Wreck Injury Attorney in San Antonio Can Help
As evidence can become lost over time and eyewitness memories tend to fade, the quicker you start gathering evidence to prove your case, the better. It’s therefore best to enroll the help of an attorney as soon as you can. Seasoned car accident attorneys collect evidence to prove negligence in cases all day long and know how to go about it.
When you speak to an attorney, they can outline a roadmap to proving negligence and winning you a fair settlement. They can then leap into action to gather the evidence for you while you focus on resting and recovering from your injury.
Proving negligence is sometimes tricky in the aftermath of a car crash. But if you act promptly, find a good lawyer, and gather the evidence listed above, you’ll soon have a strong foundation on which to build your case.
