By Susan Melony
Being involved in a vehicle accident, even a minor parking lot collision, can be a stressful experience. Suddenly, you may face unexpected costs you’re unsure how to cover.
Filing a personal injury claim can help you recover compensation for your losses but you all need to support your version of events leading up to the accident. This means supplying evidence, and what’s crucial in one claim may not apply to yours.
The critical evidence needed in personal injury claims often varies, and this can be confusing. We’re taking a look at the common types of evidence used in proving personal injury claims so you have a better idea of what’s crucial for your case.
Evidence is a crucial part of any personal injury claim. Your evidence helps support the facts of your claim and determines fault. Evidence can also help prove the severity of your damages. Here’s a closer look at some of the common types of evidence that can impact a personal injury claim.
Proving liability is an essential part of every personal injury claim. If you can’t name a liable party, filing an accident claim is all but impossible. You need to know who to name as a defendant, so this way, you know who you’re filing a claim against. You can’t file a random personal injury claim, there must be an at-fault party.
Establishing liability means proving negligence in your case. If your damages are caused by a vehicle collision, witness statements, your accident report, and surveillance footage can serve as invaluable evidence. The same evidence can also be crucial in other incidents resulting in damages like a slip-and-fall accident.
Causation is one of the key elements of negligence. You must show that the accident is the reason why you’re dealing with damages.
The same evidence that helps you establish liability can also help you prove causation, which typically includes video footage and witness statements. Your medical records can also help prove your injuries are caused by the accident. Receipts and repair estimates are other examples of evidence that can help support a property damage claim.
Don’t forget that you must prove that the at-fault party’s negligent actions are the reason the accident happened. If you can prove the defendant's actions aren’t those of a reasonable person, you’re usually well on your way to establishing causation.
An example of proving causation in a personal injury claim stemming from a car accident is when a driver is speeding and runs a red light, ultimately crashing into your vehicle. A reasonable person wouldn’t have sped through the red light. Instead, they will follow all traffic laws.
If the driver hadn’t run the red light, you wouldn’t have suffered any damages. In legal terms, the driver’s unreasonable actions are the direct cause of your injuries.
Sometimes proving a personal injury claim requires more than submitting receipts, bills, and medical records. Even your official accident report may not be enough to prove liability. Accidents can be complex and determining fault can be a lengthy process.
Your personal injury attorney may need to bring in expert testimony to help support your accident claim. These experts can range from accident scene reconstruction specialists to medical professionals testifying about the extent of your injuries. If you need long-term care, rehabilitation therapists may also be called to testify.
We’ve already mentioned witness testimony and it can be crucial to supporting a few elements of your claim. Witnesses can testify about the accident’s cause and the severity of your injuries. Witnesses can also be called to testify about any statements you or another involved may make immediately after the accident. This is why you want to be careful what you say to any witnesses.
You don’t want the defendant’s insurance adjuster to use your statements to try and reduce the value of your claim. Even apologizing at the accident scene can be seen as an admission of guilt.
Documentary evidence is fairly self-explanatory, which refers to things like your medical records, bills, and property repair estimates.
Any correspondence between you and the insurance company can also be considered documentary evidence. In other words, it’s a good idea to save everything relating to your accident. If you’re planning on claiming lost income, save your past pay stubs and financial records.
Your personal injury attorney may also turn to demonstrative evidence. Using graphs, charts, videos, and other visual tools, your attorney can effectively show how the accident is negatively impacting your life. Visual aids can also help prove liability. If you can’t show the other party is responsible for the accident, you may not have grounds for filing a personal injury claim.
This type of evidence in a personal injury claim usually only applies if you end up in civil court, and this means you’ve filed a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party. During the discovery phase, both sides can review each other’s evidence. This is when your attorney will work to produce evidence that refutes the other side’s version of events.
This type of evidence can include anything from video footage of the accident to witness testimony. Even your accident report can provide crucial evidence that your attorney can use during their cross-examination.
Before you can submit any evidence in a personal injury lawsuit, the court must determine if it’s admissible. Both involved parties have a say in what’s admissible as evidence in a personal injury lawsuit.
If either side objects to a piece of evidence, the court will review its authenticity. If the court rules the evidence isn’t admissible, neither side can introduce it during the trial.
Chances are you’re not going to run into problems producing some types of evidence like your repair estimates and medical costs.
However, it’s a little different when it comes to finding expert testimony or even securing video footage related to your case. This is when it’s a good idea to work with a personal injury attorney. Your lawyer can help ensure you have the evidence needed to prove your claim and that it’s admissible if your case goes to trial.