If you have been in an automobile accident and need to submit a claim against the at-fault person, establishing that they were at fault will be a struggle. Call Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 to speak with a personal injury attorney who can advise you on how to prove your case. Meanwhile, keep reading to learn about four possible strategies to establish fault.
By way of a police report
It is mandatory that you inform the authorities if the damage exceeds $950 and/or if there are any injuries. When they get on the scene, they should write a report that details the time, place, and manner in which the accident occurred. It is an unbiased narrative of the accident that might be quite persuasive if you need to submit a claim or go to court. If the police do not arrive at the site after you phone to report the accident, you have 24 hours to travel to the station and file the report yourself.
Witness testimony and photographs of the scene
If there were any uninvolved witnesses to the accident, their memories may be crucial in determining who was at responsibility. If you and/or the other drivers involved have passengers who witnessed the collision, their comments can be useful, but they may not be given as much weight since they could be perceived as prejudiced.
Take pictures of the site as well as the damage. In some cases, you can use these images to verify what happened. Skid marks, for example, might reveal when and where each automobile attempted to stop.
By examining the vehicles’ damage
If there were no witnesses and the photographs were inconclusive, specialists may be called in to reconstruct the collision by examining the cars’ damage. If a car is struck from behind, for example, they are almost probably not at blame. In the event of a t-bone collision in an intersection, the position of the damage would determine which automobile collided with which.
Experts in accident reconstruction
In other circumstances, we may need to engage specialists who can reconstruct the accident using damage, photographs of the site, and other data. They may look at all the facts to figure out where each automobile was at the moment of accident, how fast they were going, and other important information. These specialists can be costly and are not usually essential, but they may be required in situations of catastrophic harm.
We urge that you call Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas as soon as possible if you are unsure how to show blame in an accident in which you were involved. With a free legal consultation, we will get you started.
