Personal Injury Accident - Preserving Evidence - Photographing the Scene
If you have suffered a personal injury that you believe was caused by the negligence of someone else, the first critical step is returning to the scene of the accident as soon as possible.
During this site visit, hopefully accompanied by your attorney, it is important to search for physical evidence and any dangerous conditions in the area.
It will certainly surprise you as to what you will see and find upon a return to the scene.
You might see something that you did not observe before that might be critical to your case.
Perhaps it is a condition in the premises that caused you to fall, such as an untreated patch of ice or an unsafe lighting conditions.
If it was a traffic accident, you might observe a traffic light that does not work or some other dangerous road condition.
Surveying the scene of an accident is critical.
Not only does it provide a potential treasure trove of physical evidence, but you might find security cameras that could provide footage of your injury or even a witness that observed what occurred or could shed light on whether the area has a history of the same types of incidents that caused your injury.
The possibilities are endless and this crucial step should not be ignored.
While performing the site visit, you or your attorney should be taking pictures with a camera sophisticated enough to take vivid and clear photographs.
Photographs, to be admissible at your trial, must meet certain standards and having them taken close in time to the accident is critical.
The better prepared you are with photographs and other physical evidence obtained at the scene will result in a stronger position with the insurance company.
Key tips for photographing an accident scene: 1.
The camera used must be sophisticated enough to take clear photographs regardless of the lighting source.
Camera phones, cheap digital cameras and polaroids provide far lesser quality and, because of their low pixel count produce grainy images when blown up for exhibits at trial.
2.
Photographs should be taken at the same time of day or night as your accident occurred.
While, it may be necessary to take daytime photographs when the accident occurred at night (and vice versa), having photographs that depict the accident scene as close to its appearance as it was is very important.
3.
Have a witness with you, or your attorney present, when the photographs are taken.
This will provide you with some security in the form of testimony or affidavit that will corroborate the photographs and when they were taken.
4.
Be liberal with the amount of photographs that you take.
It is always better to have more than less.
5.
Take photographs of the same area from multiple angles, you never know what will later be deemed important.
6.
Take photographs of more than just the distinct location where your accident occurred.
Wide shots should be taken to provide a context for the location of the accident.
And tight shots should be taken at more than just the accident location, but also its surrounding area.
7.
Get the photographs developed promptly so as to review what you have in a hard copy, and get a receipt for the date and time the photographs were developed.
With appropriate photographs, you can enhance the ability of your attorney in representing you to get you the recovery you deserve.
Without photographs depicting the scene, you run the risk of having a failure of proof and having an insurance adjuster take a strong position against you in settlement negotiations.
During this site visit, hopefully accompanied by your attorney, it is important to search for physical evidence and any dangerous conditions in the area.
It will certainly surprise you as to what you will see and find upon a return to the scene.
You might see something that you did not observe before that might be critical to your case.
Perhaps it is a condition in the premises that caused you to fall, such as an untreated patch of ice or an unsafe lighting conditions.
If it was a traffic accident, you might observe a traffic light that does not work or some other dangerous road condition.
Surveying the scene of an accident is critical.
Not only does it provide a potential treasure trove of physical evidence, but you might find security cameras that could provide footage of your injury or even a witness that observed what occurred or could shed light on whether the area has a history of the same types of incidents that caused your injury.
The possibilities are endless and this crucial step should not be ignored.
While performing the site visit, you or your attorney should be taking pictures with a camera sophisticated enough to take vivid and clear photographs.
Photographs, to be admissible at your trial, must meet certain standards and having them taken close in time to the accident is critical.
The better prepared you are with photographs and other physical evidence obtained at the scene will result in a stronger position with the insurance company.
Key tips for photographing an accident scene: 1.
The camera used must be sophisticated enough to take clear photographs regardless of the lighting source.
Camera phones, cheap digital cameras and polaroids provide far lesser quality and, because of their low pixel count produce grainy images when blown up for exhibits at trial.
2.
Photographs should be taken at the same time of day or night as your accident occurred.
While, it may be necessary to take daytime photographs when the accident occurred at night (and vice versa), having photographs that depict the accident scene as close to its appearance as it was is very important.
3.
Have a witness with you, or your attorney present, when the photographs are taken.
This will provide you with some security in the form of testimony or affidavit that will corroborate the photographs and when they were taken.
4.
Be liberal with the amount of photographs that you take.
It is always better to have more than less.
5.
Take photographs of the same area from multiple angles, you never know what will later be deemed important.
6.
Take photographs of more than just the distinct location where your accident occurred.
Wide shots should be taken to provide a context for the location of the accident.
And tight shots should be taken at more than just the accident location, but also its surrounding area.
7.
Get the photographs developed promptly so as to review what you have in a hard copy, and get a receipt for the date and time the photographs were developed.
With appropriate photographs, you can enhance the ability of your attorney in representing you to get you the recovery you deserve.
Without photographs depicting the scene, you run the risk of having a failure of proof and having an insurance adjuster take a strong position against you in settlement negotiations.
