What Should You Do If You Are Involved in an Accident Caused by Someone Else’s Negligence?
If you or a loved one is injured due to someone else’s negligent actions, you need to contact a personal injury lawyer, like a lawyer from Greenspan & Greenspan P.C., right away. Here are a few important steps you should remember to take if you are ever involved in something that could turn into a personal injury case.
Collect Any Possible Evidence from the Scene of the Accident
There are many different things you can use in court as evidence from an accident. Some of the most common may include:
- Photos from the accident scene. These are best if they are taken from several different angles and include any factors such as what the weather was as well as others who may have been involved or photos of faulty objects or dangerous conditions.
- Get witness statements. These can be crucial in an accident case. Not only will they be able to testify what they saw happen, but they may have video evidence or photos that could be important to your case. You should always collect contact information from witnesses and ask them to wait around for a police officer to come take an official statement. This allows the witness to document their statement while it is still fresh in his or her mind.
- Call a police officer to the scene of the accident. This is an important step to collecting evidence in a case because he or she will take their best guess of what happened, who was at fault, and what all of the conditions of the scene of the accident looked like. Police officers are trained to evaluate things like this, so it is great to get a testimony from an officer. He or she can also come to court on your behalf if necessary for your case.
Anything you think may be important for your case in the future should be safely collected from the scene of the accident. If there was a product defect, you should first take photos before touching the object, then keep it to show to your lawyer at a later date. You never know what may be needed in court as proof.
Hire a Lawyer Right Away
You always want to retain representation before speaking to anyone about the accident. This is important because you do not want to unknowingly jeopardize your case by accidentally admitting fault or anything that may make a judge or jury think that you could even be at partial fault for the accident. By hiring a lawyer, you are increasing your chances of receiving compensation greatly. Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means he or she will not accept any payment unless they win your case. This makes having a lawyer on your side risk-free and only potentially incredibly beneficial for your case. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible so that he or she can begin handling your case and collecting any necessary evidence to use in court.