If you have suffered an injury or damages as a result of the negligent action of someone else, you may be eligible for compensation by way of a personal injury claim. In order to receive such compensation, you will need to win your personal injury claim and this requires evidence. This article will discuss the evidence needed to prove your personal injury claim.
In every personal injury claim evidence is necessary to prove your claim for it to succeed. Where the question of liability is an issue, and requires that you establish that the other person was negligent, there are specific types of evidence you will need so as to successfully prove your case. The question then is what types of evidence do you need to do this. Some evidence includes the following:
- Police reports – especially in car accidents police reports are very important. This is because they document the circumstances and cause of the car accident. One of the first things to do in a car accident is to call the police. Once the police officer is on the scene, he or she may provide the scenario of the accident, determine who caused the accident and may even give the individual a citation. In addition, the police report will have witness statements, and the witnesses’ names and likely addresses. All this is vital information for your case.
- Eyewitness statements – eyewitness statements are very important as they provide a ‘corroborating opinion’ as to the occurrence of the events and give details with regards to when, where and how your injury happened.
- Photographs – when/if possible after a car accident it is wise to return to the scene of the accident or assign someone else to do so in order to take photographs of the scene. This provides evidence that might help document the cause of your injuries and the circumstances surrounding the accident. In addition, it paints a picture of the scenario as to how the accident occurred. Photographs may show skid marks of tires on the road, the volume of traffic on the day, an obscure road sign, non-working traffic signals, etc.
- Videotape from local business – nowadays, there is often videotape of an accident showing exactly what happened. This can prove helpful for an accident victim to prove their case.
- Medical treatment records – all medical records linked with your injury are of the utmost importance as evidence. Therefore, it is necessary to include any medical treatment records and bills from emergency services, hospital visits, doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists.
- A doctor or medical expert’s testimony provides substantial evidence when explaining the cause of your injury. For example, if you suffered a herniated disc[Herniated disk – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic] the doctor or medical expert can testify with regard to the impact the car accident had that resulted in the herniated disc and can dismiss any notion, likely from the defendant, that it was caused by an already existing injury or an unrelated one. This is mainly because a defendant will almost always argue some injuries were a result of other issues. Keeping with the example of a herniated disc, it is caused by many factors including the natural process of aging.
Deciding and figuring out whether or not you have sufficient evidence to bring a lawsuit can be difficult to do on your own. Especially so if you are unfamiliar with personal injury cases. For legal advice and representation speak to a Bakersfield personal injury lawyer [https://www.youngwooldridge.com/] today.
Young Wooldridge, LLP is a full-service law firm serving Bakersfield, California and all of Kern County. Our firm is recognized as a leader in the community, and we offer and extensive and wide variety of legal services including, but not limited to water law, personal injury, business law, employment and labor law, estate planning, real estate, and much more. Please reach out today to talk to a member of our team.
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