How Accident Scene Photos Can Increase the Value Of a Car Crash Claim
Distracted driving, speeding, drunk driving, or aggressive driving are some of the common causes of car crashes. You may consider filing a personal injury claim if you were involved in a vehicle crash because of the negligence or recklessness of another driver.
Accident photos can play a key role in establishing the negligence of the other party and building a strong claim for compensation. A seasoned car accident attorney will help you gather the necessary evidence, including photographic and video material that supports your personal injury claim.
Photographic Evidence Can Help Level the Playing Field
Time-stamped videos and pictures taken from your smartphone right after the accident can increase the value and credibility of your personal injury claim. These images can prove to be essential evidence in establishing fault for the accident.
Accident site photos provide clear and graphic proof of injuries and damage. They also tell the story of how exactly the accident happened. Pictures serve as valuable tools to jog your memory at a later date when you need to reconstruct the incident in your mind.
Victims generally overlook important details because of actual trauma endured during the car accident. Videos and photographs can reveal not just the obvious evidence, but also shed light on the more subtle evidence that may otherwise get overlooked. It’s the intricate evidence simplified through photographs that can play a vital role in proving and supporting an accident claim.
More Effective Negotiation with the Insurance Adjuster
Quality accident photographs alongside other types of evidence will show the insurance adjuster that your claim should be taken seriously. You can present a compelling case by organizing your photographs. This can help in obtaining a higher settlement offer as well. Insurance companies usually train their adjusters to close claims quickly.
The insurance adjuster won’t take your case lightly when you present proper photographic evidence. The images will serve as vital evidence when presented in court. Your attorney will be able to secure a better position for you to negotiate a fair settlement. It is difficult to dispute with a well-taken video or photograph regardless of what the insurance company says.
Photographs don’t leave much to the imagination since they vividly illustrate the accident scene. People’s stories and eyewitness statements can change, but it is hard to dispute with a picture illustrating the accident scene.
Protect Your Personal Injury Claim with Images
Your best move is to get a medical evaluation following the car accident as soon as possible if you were not taken to the hospital directly from the accident scene. Your claim will be undermined if you delay getting medical assistance. Having photographic evidence of your injuries can reduce the likelihood of the insurance company denying your injuries or claim.
You may want to ask a friend or family to return to the scene to take more photographs depending on the quality of the photos you got. You can also ask your car accident attorney to gather photographic evidence on your behalf.
You should get all the street signs, damaged objects, and other evidence. It’s recommended that you get images of the injuries throughout the recovery process. Photographs of swelling, bruising, or stitches can be compelling evidence when arguing a claim.
Take the Right Photographs
You can use your phone’s camera in several ways to capture evidence that increases the value of your claim. These are a few things you should not miss:
- Your car: There is no direct correlation between injury and property damage claims. Based on this, you need to understand that juries are human. Substantial damage to a vehicle helps the jury ascertain the severity of the impact.
- Other cars: You should take pictures of the other driver’s car as well to show the angle of the crash, the manner in which the impact occurred, and the velocity and speed of the impact
- Accident scene: You should try and get as many pictures of the accident site as possible. This includes intersections, red lights, stop signs, skid marks, and any debris left on the road among other things.
- Injuries: Serious injuries don’t usually have visible symptoms if they are internal. However, external injuries, such as bleeding, scars, lacerations, bruising, and other graphic images should be photographed. These can play a major role in demonstrating the impact of the crash and the severity of your injuries.
Your attorney can always use words describing the events leading to the accident, damage to property, and injuries sustained by you. Based on this, you can have a stronger impact on the jury by showing them photographic evidence. It may prove to be valuable to make a video of the crash scene as well.
Don’t forget to include elements like traffic signs, other vehicles, and the speed at which people are traveling. It may be helpful to video record light intervals as well.
Get an Experienced Car Accident Attorney in Alabama on Your Side
It’s not too late if you were involved in a car crash and missed out on taking pictures. The skilled legal team at the office of Frank M. Wilson can help you gather the necessary photographic evidence if you reach out to us quickly after your accident and injuries. Call us at (334) 423-3137 or write to us online to book your free initial consultation with us today.
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