Accidents

Top 8 Documents to Show Lawyers After a Car Accident

Law

The benefits of hiring an attorney when filing a car accident lawsuit are limitless. Legal matters are complex and require experience and expertise to navigate through the requirements.

The attorney understands the law better than you do and has what it takes to protect your rights. A legal expert has excellent negotiation skills and will not rest until you get the justice and compensation you deserve.

Nonetheless, you must be willing to cooperate with your attorney to win a lawsuit. The chances of winning the case mainly depend on the information lawyer has. Here are documents to show lawyers after a car accident.

1. Police Statements

As soon as the accident occurs, you should call the police to assess the scene. The police will draft a report based on their findings after evaluating the accident. The information is crucial when determining the at-fault party after a crush.

The officers will establish if there were any traffic rules violations. The reports are drafted, and they include the degree of the damages, your statement, the other party’s statement, and account from witnesses and other drivers.

It would help you get a copy of the report and carry it when seeing your car accident lawyer. While at this, note the badge number, name, and other important information on the officer who made the report.

Also, if you cannot get the report, your lawyer may do it on your behalf. Check out extra resources covering what to do after a car accident.

2. Copies of Your Insurance Policy

Every state requires you to have insurance before getting on the road.

You should carry your proof of policy payments to prove that you were not driving illegally. Provide your attorney with checks or bank statements to prove that you are up-to-date with the premiums payments.

This document helps your attorney to review the type of insurance recovery that you are entitled to. Your attorney will come up with a plan in case your insurance is inadequate.

3. Accident Photos and Videos

You need solid evidence to prove that you were not at fault for the accident. There is no better way to show that than through photos and videos. The visuals can explain the story better than words. Your case will be more grounding and believable if you have pictures and videos to back you up.

The visuals can show something that you and the police officer left out when drafting reports. Take clear photos or videos of the accident scene before it is tampered with. Document property damages and bodily injuries, if any.

You may also take videos or photos of your recovery journey from the first day. The lawyer will use such pictures and videos to determine the strength of your case and if you have any chances of winning.

4. Medical Reports

The first thing to do after a car accident is to check if anyone was injured. Note that some car accident injuries are invisible. You should not conclude that you are okay just because you have no bruises. You may sustain internal injuries or trauma from the incidence.

Seek immediate medical help before things get out of hand and provide your lawyer with the medical reports.

If you fail to seek medical assistance immediately and later develop issues relating to the accident, you cannot claim that the injuries were from the crash. Show medical records so the attorney can prove that you were hurt and have incurred medical bills as a result.

This aspect plays a crucial role in determining the ideal compensation amount.

5. Witness Statements

Again, you cannot win a lawsuit if you lack enough evidence to prove your claim. Statements from witnesses come in handy to offer first-hand information on how the accident happened.

No one wants to take the blame for a car crash. The involved drivers will do anything to acquit themselves, and in that case, it is your word against theirs. Having a third-party’s unbiased report is your only way out.

Do not forget to include the witnesses’ names and contact details if you need them during the case hearing for clarity. Some witnesses may choose to offer written statements, while others will give recorded voice notes and take photos of the accident.

6. Estimated Car Damages

If your vehicle sustains damages, the insurer will take care of the repair, and that’s why you need the estimates to establish how much you should receive as compensation.

While you cannot determine the exact value of the car damages, you can estimate depending on the degree of the accident.

If the car is damaged to the point of being written off, the insurance company will repay you an amount that matches the vehicle’s market value or ACV. But they can only do so if you can provide detailed estimates of the vehicle damages and proof of the car’s value.

You can acquire such information through your mechanic, who will do a thorough assessment of the car before giving you an estimated repair services quote.

7. Payment Records

Perhaps you have sustained injuries after the crash. That means that you have to stay home or at the hospital for some time before full recovery. You lose time from work which is compensated through lost wage compensation.

Your lawyer needs to calculate the lost wage based on your pre-accident earnings. Providing pay records, both before and after the accident, makes it easier for the law expert to get you the highest possible compensation.

8. Car Accident-Related Tickets

Unfortunately, most car crashes result from drunk driving, overspeeding, or texting while driving. If a traffic officer proves that you see engaging in any of these violations when the accident occurred, you will be issued a ticket.

You should provide your lawyer with these documents so that they can decide the way forward.

These Are the Documents to Show Lawyers Handling Your Case

The period after a car accident is both physically and emotionally draining. Let your attorney deal with the daunting processes as you focus on healing.

Given the complexity of car accident law, it would help if you gathered all these documents to show lawyers after an accident. You’ll make their work more manageable and increase your chances of winning the case.

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