Getting Additional Car Accident Evidence in Your Favor
If you've been involved in an accident without many public witnesses, it can be hard to prove your point. There's evidence that police will gather that can determined what happened, such as skid mark direction, the area of vehicle damage and toxicology reports. There still may be some room for doubt, and since you have some insight into the incident, you should start looking for other areas that could hold evidence. Without disturbing said evidence, here are a few angles to consider after being involved in an accident when evidence can make the difference.
Local Business and Facility Recording
Was your accident near any businesses, or at least within line of sight? Many security cameras point within their own property, but may have cameras facing major roads that could single out a collision. It may be blurry in some cases, but if you're sure it wasn't your fault and simply need more proof to show the other party's fault, the footage can help.
Before canvassing for evidence, you'll need to be prepared to receive the evidence. With cameras, you'll likely only get a copy rather than the original. If someone tries to get you an original, by all means be positive about the situation and arrange for the evidence to go to your lawyer or law enforcement with your lawyer present.
If you accept the evidence without proper authority, it's too easy for the other party to claim that you tampered with the evidence. Such tampering can be detected and debated if you didn't do anything, but it's a delay that you don't need and an issue that you can avoid by going through the proper channels.
You have few concerns if you simply receive a copy, and even if the original is surrendered to authorities, you can still ask for a copy for your own records. For newer security cameras, having a USB storage device/thumb drive to copy information is fine. You should also have a CD or DVD-holding book or set of cases in case the system uses discs.
Lucky Recording on Smartphones
Don't underestimate the speed and quality of passersby. Your accident could have been recorded by someone's dashboard camera or by a passenger just recording the day. The next best thing would be recording after the accident, which can show what happened before cars were moved out of the way if positioning is being questioned.
Social media is your friend here. The people with the evidence can come forward easily through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms and garner a bit of social attention through sharing. It's news, after all, and they'll have an interesting scoop with someone involved with their video.
Contact a car accident lawyer like those at Brownfield Law Office and discuss the evidence you plan on tracking down, along with anything you may have found already.
