Whether a fender bender or a crash, car accidents are extremely stressful. After the accident, you will be worried about damage to your vehicle, potential costs, and any personal injuries. 

Additional stress comes into play when you are unsure how to prove who was at fault for the accident. Understanding whether a driver was negligent can impact insurance settlements and any personal injury claims that are made, so it’s essential to know how you prove negligence in a car accident. Read on to learn more.

What Is Negligence?

When operating a vehicle, drivers have a legal responsibility to take precautions and care not to endanger anyone else. Negligence occurs when someone is proven to have not taken this precaution or care. 

For example, if someone is texting while driving, intoxicated, or otherwise inattentive, then they would be found negligent if they have caused an accident while doing these things.

How Can Negligence Be Proven?

Proving negligence means providing enough evidence that it’s deemed conclusive. This evidence can come in many forms, but here are some of the most common types of evidence used to prove negligence in a car accident:

Police Reports

Always call the police when an accident occurs. On-scene police officers will take statements from those involved in the crash, as well as any witnesses to the accident. Police are also better equipped to obtain evidence, such as security footage from nearby businesses.

When giving a statement to the police, be as accurate as you can, but be careful not to assign yourself any blame. Avoid statements such as “I should have looked behind me” or “I wish I’d noticed them.” Insurance companies can — and will — use statements of blame against those injured in car accidents.

Photos and Videos

After an accident, if you are able, you should document as much of the accident as possible. This includes taking photos of the damage to your car and any injuries you have sustained, as well as photos or footage of the scene itself. 

Were all stop lights working? Was there anything on the road that may have caused someone to brake or swerve? What was the weather like? 

Additionally, take photos of anything that can help prove damage such as skid marks, broken glass, or any parts of the vehicles that landed away from the initial scene.

Eyewitness Testimony

Bystanders can provide valuable witness statements about the accident. Since they were not involved, they will likely have an unbiased view of the crash. 

They can provide testimony that you may not have experienced yourself from inside the vehicle–such as if the other driver sped up behind you or they had seen them on their phone while driving.

Expert Testimony

In some instances, accident reconstruction specialists or traffic engineers may need to be called on to provide expert statements on how they believe the accident could have happened.

Medical Reports

If you were injured in the accident, a doctor may provide evidence through medical reports about how your injuries were sustained.

Traffic Signal Logs and Traffic Camera Footage

Traffic cams, GPS signals, and traffic signal logs can all fill in pieces of the puzzle about car accidents. They can prove the direction that a vehicle was coming from, speed, and more key pieces of evidence.

How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help?

In addition to the stress and trauma caused by an accident, you may also have to deal with financial and medical decisions. All of this adds up to a lot of time, money, and more stress. 

Having an experienced car accident attorney help you file your claim, gather evidence, and represent you in court can be the difference between receiving a fair settlement for the damages you suffered and receiving no settlement at all.

An experienced lawyer can talk to police and insurance companies on your behalf, help you correctly and efficiently fill out any needed paperwork, and fairly represent your interests in a court case. Personal injury claims often rely on proving the other driver’s negligence, and an experienced lawyer can help you gather the necessary evidence to do so.

Poynter & Bucheri Accident Recovery – Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyers are here to help. With years of experience dealing with car accident cases, we are ready to help ensure you receive a fair settlement.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-800-265-9881 for a free consultation.