FAQs
Should I take photographs of the vehicles and the scene?
Photographs and videos are an excellent form of proof. The old saying "one picture is worth a thousand words" is never more true and it is even better when the action is caught in motion. They make for great evidence in a personal injury, damage or loss claim.
With the advent of cell phones with cameras and video capacity it is easier than every to take photographs and record actions and audio. Try not to forget this asset if you are in a collision.
Act quickly because once the offending vehicle is removed from the scene, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to get your own photographs or video of it later.
You will want to photograph/video the scene of the accident, but do not overlook the possibility that others may have taken photographs of the scene, the vehicles and even the people involved. Get their name and telephone number if they will share.
Try to get photographs/videos of the responsible party. There is nothing like recording anger and statements of abuse directed toward you, but try to do it without creating trouble. It is best done, when the police or firemen arrive.
When photographs/videos are taken at the scene, regardless of who takes them, they can be a treasure in support of a claim.
Photographs not only shows the extend of the damage or loss sustained, but what was damaged in the accident and its location. If important to the claim. They may be important to determine the fault of the person who caused the collision. They conveys a sense of just how bad the accident was from the amount of visible damage and relation of the vehicles one to the other another and the surrounding area. Do your best to obtain photographs as soon as possible.
When you take photographs, it is necessary they clearly show all the damage resulting from the accident and all other damage even though it was present before the accident.
Often times seats will be broken, steering wheels bent, rear view mirrors torn from their station, windshields cracked or broken glass will be scattered about. These things are important to photographs, but "Playboy" magazine, old beverage containers or used fast food paper products and other garbage are not. You want to document the damage not items that will serve to distract a person viewing the photographs.
For easy access to the set you keep in your file mount them on sheets of paper with transparent tape leaving room beside each one to make notations to describe important information and from which direction it was taken.
If there are any objects in the picture which you believe to be important to your claim, make notes of your thoughts as well. The sooner your make these notes the better. Time has a way of fading the memory and causing good ideas to be lost if not immediately recorded.
If you hire an attorney, he will need these photographs/videos.
If you have suffered physical injury, you will want to take photos/videos of the areas of the body which demonstrate injury and can be done with modesty by using towels to cover parts of the body not injured where possible. These may have to be repeated from time to time as the body heals.
If you are not able to take photographs/vidos of your vehicle at the scene, but the vehicle is avaialbe after the collison, there are entirely different rules to visually record the damage.
All of the photos you take will be useful to your lawyer and to the ultimate resolution of your case.
