It is not always easy to establish the facts of a car collision. Statements from witnesses and those involve in the accident can be conflicting, especially if there are disputes over who was at fault. Additionally, evidence often becomes more difficult to collect the more time that passes after the crash.
If you were injured in a wreck, it is critical to reach out to a well-practiced attorney as soon as possible. The legal team at Smith Hulsey is skilled at investigating Gainesville car accidents, and we could help you build a strong case for the compensation you deserve.
Investigations are a key part of recovering damages in a civil suit, so it is important for those injured in Gainesville auto accidents to seek dedicated legal assistance. There are many methods and tools that a hardworking attorney could use to investigate a car crash case.
To determine the facts of a car wreck, lawyers often rely on police citations and accident reports made by the responding officers. If there is any ambiguity in the officer’s narrative, it may be necessary to schedule an interview with them. Sometimes, an officer’s diagram in their report may be misleading or misrepresent the landscape of the accident scene. In these cases, a dedicated lawyer in the area could compare the diagram with a satellite image and discuss any discrepancies with the officer to ensure that the report is accurate.
However, police officers handle these types of accidents several times a day, so their memory of a specific crash may fade quickly. As such, it is critical for injured victims to retain a nearby lawyer as soon as possible after a car crash to begin a thorough investigation.
Police officers do not always have the time to check available security cameras after a car wreck. However, many restaurants, gas stations, and intersections have cameras that may capture a collision, especially those that occur at traffic signals. These videos can be crucial in determining who is actually at fault for an incident.
An attorney could thoroughly investigate a Gainesville crash site for any businesses that may have captured the accident. Once retained, an experienced lawyer can work tirelessly to secure video evidence and comb through the security footage. This is often key in investigating who was at fault and how the car collision occurred.
Additionally, video evidence can help establish the severity of a traffic accident. For instance, many insurance companies will assume that rear-endings do not cause severe injuries worthy of significant damage awards. However, if a video shows the impact and how far the vehicles traveled after the crash, a savvy attorney could enlist an accident reconstructionist or mechanical engineer to testify on how the collision affected the injured victim.
Beyond investigating the facts of car accident, the role of a skilled local attorney is to understand the law and legal precedent when building a case. At Smith Hulsey, our lawyers look through past cases and speak with attorney colleagues to find similar car accident scenarios. Through this legal research, we investigate how liability was apportioned by the jury and what arguments were presented. This is a necessary part of the process of gathering evidence and creating a strong civil claim on behalf of an injured car accident victim.
If you were recently involved in a traffic crash, reach out to legal assistance as quickly as possible. The sooner a lawyer begins their investigation, the more successful they may be in collecting the evidence you need to build a successful claim for compensation. To learn more about investigating car accidents in Gainesville, call our firm today.
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