Most people know the essential actions to take following a car accident. These steps include contacting the police, notifying your insurance company, swapping insurance details, capturing photos of the involved vehicles, and collecting contact information from witnesses.
However, what should you do if you’re seriously injured and taken from the scene by an ambulance before you have a chance to do any of this? Knowing alternative methods for collecting crucial information for your accident claim is critical to ensuring you get the compensation you deserve.
Act now and contact Fieger Law’s team of Michigan car crash lawyers. We’re ready to meet with you right after your accident to protect your rights and start gathering evidence for your case, allowing you to focus on healing.
Why the Police Report is Crucial
After an accident, the most crucial evidence to collect is the police report. In a serious collision, the law requires those involved to call the police. The responding officers will then arrive at the scene and compile a report that includes:
- Details of the accident, including date, time, and location.
- Involved parties’ contact and insurance information.
- Statements from drivers, passengers, and any witnesses.
- Observations by the police officer regarding the accident.
- Information on any citations or legal violations issued at the scene.
- Weather and road conditions at the time of the accident.
- Descriptions of the vehicles involved and the damage sustained.
- Any injuries reported or observed at the scene.
If you can’t collect evidence at the scene yourself, this report becomes crucial. It serves as a foundation for your insurance claim, helps determine who may be at fault, and supports your request for compensation from the other driver’s insurance company.
For example, if the report shows that the other driver was speeding or ignored a red light, it can help prove their negligence and reinforce your case for damages.
However, when injuries prevent you from giving a statement, the report may not accurately reflect the incident, potentially attributing fault to you based on a one-sided account or minimizing the collision’s impact.
Our attorneys can review the traffic crash report and check it for inaccuracies. If there are any discrepancies, we’re prepared to challenge them and seek a supplemental report that includes your account of the event.
Other Ways to Gather Evidence
When your injuries prevent gathering evidence at the scene of a crash, don’t worry—there are other ways to make sure you still get the information you need for a claim, including:
- Third-Party Footage: Videos from public surveillance and dashcams offer an impartial perspective of a crash, proving useful when collecting personal evidence isn’t an option. Fieger Law actively searches for this footage to find visual documentation of the incident, providing insights and angles that you might not have been able to capture on your own.
- Black Box Data: Vehicle black boxes, or event data recorders (EDRs), record vital information right before a crash, including speed and braking details, giving a factual view into how the accident unfolded. Our team can retrieve and examine this data when available, providing evidence for your claim. This is particularly valuable if you cannot share your version of events due to injuries.
- Witness Statements: Witnesses offer firsthand descriptions of the accident, detailing the drivers’ actions and noting important factors such as weather and traffic conditions that may have contributed. We collect these eyewitness accounts, which can bolster your claim with direct observations and serve as crucial evidence when your own account isn’t available.
- Medical Records: Your medical records directly connect to the accident, showing just how severe your injuries are and their impact on you. An attorney can assist in collecting these records, highlighting the seriousness of your injuries and their immediate effects.
- Expert Analysis: In more complicated cases, expert opinions from people working in fields like accident reconstruction or medical assessments can clarify the specifics of the accident and the nature of your injuries. We liaise with leading experts to support your claim with expert analysis, bridging any gaps in evidence that might result from your inability to collect information at the scene yourself.
Let Our Qualified Attorneys Help You After a Crash
Following a car crash, if you’re dealing with serious injuries, it can be challenging to think about gathering evidence or protecting your rights. However, partnering with a Fieger Law attorney allows you to concentrate on healing while we handle the evidence collection essential for securing your compensation.
We can come to you, whether you’re at home or in the hospital, to review your case and ensure your rights are protected. Give us a call today for a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s time to take that vital step toward your recovery and getting justice.