If you or someone you love gets into a vehicle accident, it is critical to preserve evidence that can help the parties involved determine what happened and why. Take certain steps to protect, preserve and collect key evidence immediately after a car accident in Texas. This may be the only way you can prove liability and recover financial compensation for your collision.
Why Do You Need to Preserve Evidence During a Vehicle Accident Case?
Collecting and preserving evidence is important for your financial recovery after a vehicle accident in Texas. Texas uses a tort-based insurance system that holds the at-fault driver legally responsible for a victim’s damages. You will generally need evidence that establishes the other driver’s fault to qualify for insurance benefits.
Without clear and convincing evidence that the other driver owed you a duty of care, breached this duty and caused your car accident, you may be unable to convince the driver's insurance company to pay for your losses. It will be up to you or your personal injury lawyer as a plaintiff in a car accident case in Texas to preserve evidence and present it to the insurance company. The burden of proving negligence rests with your side of the case.
Preserving Evidence From the Crash Scene Before Cleanup
The scene of a car accident can contain vital evidence of how and why the crash occurred. Before cleaning crews come and clear away the debris, do your best to either take photos yourself or have someone take photos for you. Photographs can preserve the crash scene as it looked immediately after your accident. Pictures and videos can capture images of a pothole that popped your tire, for example, before the city has the chance to repair the defect. If you cannot preserve evidence from the scene of the car accident immediately after the collision, return as soon as you can or have a lawyer return to the crash scene for you.
Gathering Statements From Eyewitnesses While Their Memories Are Still Fresh
Eyewitness statements are also important to gather from the scene of a car accident. You, a trusted friend or the police should collect contact information from all the eyewitnesses who saw the car accident occur. Write down their full names and contact phone numbers while still at the scene, if possible. Later, after you have obtained medical care for your injuries, reach out to eyewitnesses to collect their versions of what happened. Gather these statements as soon as possible to preserve details while their memories are still fresh and accurate.
Asking Companies to Preserve Key Information
Making phone calls to certain businesses and companies after a car accident may be necessary to ask them to preserve evidence that is relevant to your vehicle accident case. If you were injured in a truck accident, for example, contacting the truck company and asking them to preserve the truck’s black box could help you prove your case against the truck driver.
You may also want to reach out to businesses near the crash scene to request that they preserve any video surveillance footage that might have caught the accident on tape. Finally, contacting the other driver's cell phone company could allow you to preserve phone records that prove the other driver was talking or texting while driving.
Need Help Preserving Evidence? Contact a Car Accident Attorney
Preserving evidence while it is still available can allow you to prove the other driver’s fault and recover fair compensation from his or her insurance company. If you need assistance preserving evidence after a car accident, contact an attorney to help you with this task. A car accident lawyer in Dallas will know exactly what steps to take and calls to make to preserve key evidence on your behalf. Your lawyer can take care of this for you while you focus on healing. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible for assistance preserving evidence for your legal claim.