5 Types of Evidence to Gather

When you’ve just been in an auto accident, your mind can get a bit hazy. This is particularly the case if you’re injured or upset. If you’re physically able to, though, it’s important to collect evidence right away in order to bolster your personal injury claim later.

The road to recovery and compensation after a Colorado Springs car accident can be long and complicated. That’s why it’s important to have all the documentation and proof you need to make an insurance claim.

Read on to find out what 5 types of evidence to gather after a car crash in Colorado Springs.

Five types of evidence to gather after an auto accident in Colorado Springs. Hi, my name is Jake Kimball and I’m one of the attorneys at Springs Law Group. Today, I’m going to talk to you about what you should be trying to gather at the scene of an accident.

First and foremost, we want to make sure that you’re safe. So don’t do any of this if you’re in a situation where you’re not completely safe. If that means pulling your vehicles into a parking lot or on the side of the road, make sure to take care of safety first.

That aside, number one, you need to get the driver’s contact information. You need their name and address. If you call the police, they’ll get that for you and they’ll put that in a police report. I recommend calling the police every time because then you don’t get into any spats with the other driver. So, get their name and address, then you also need to get their auto insurance, which will be in their proof of insurance. They’ll probably want yours too, which is fine. Their entitled to look at that.

Then you’re going to want to take photos of number one, the cars that are involved in the accident. You’re taking photos of the parts of your vehicle that are damaged at least. Then, also take photos of their vehicle. Vehicle damage matters – the damage to the other driver’s vehicle and your own. It affects your bodily injury claim, so it’s very important.

You also want to take photos of the scene. This is especially true if you think that there was some part of the scene that caused the accident. Maybe the other driver is saying because this tree was in the way I didn’t see the stop sign or things like that. You want to document those because they could change. Typically, on a personal injury case, if it goes into litigation, it could take years and so the scene could change drastically from the time that you are in your accident to the time that it actually is litigated.

Once you have driver information, auto insurance, and photos, you also want to get photographs of your own injuries. Oftentimes, for example, you’ll have injuries that go away. For example, if you get bruised from the seat belt, that’s going to go away in a couple of weeks. You want to take a photo of it if you’re going to be claiming the seatbelt lock injured you in the accident.

The final thing you want to get is the names and numbers of the witnesses to the accident. If you have called the police, then the police will usually get that information and put it in the police report for you. However, I have seen times when the witness is unavailable so the police officer will not write down their statement. In that situation, you’ll need to get their phone number and their name. If you have if you get an address, great. If the witness can’t stay at the scene, just write it down, and then your attorney can contact the witness later.

So those are five pieces of evidence that you’ll want to gather after an auto accident.

If you’ve been in a car accident, contact a Colorado Springs personal injury lawyer right away. Accident claims and personal injury lawsuits are time-sensitive, so we suggest you don’t wait. Get the legal advice you need so you can collect a fair settlement for your injuries.

You can find more information on our website or by giving us a call!

Find more helpful resources: