Why You Should Always Gather Evidence After a Car Accident

When someone calls me after a car accident in Waldorf or Southern Maryland, I always ask them for photos and other evidence they collected at the scene of the car accident or shortly afterwards.

If a new client has lots of photos and evidence, I know their case will go more smoothly. I know we will probably win their case on liability and we won’t have to worry about the other driver claiming my client caused the accident. Even a claim of partial fault will invalidate your claim in Maryland thanks to an outdated legal doctrine called contributory negligence.

I am not just saying this as an attorney. I have two personal stories as the victim of a car accident that prove this point. But first I will give you a bullet point list of evidence I need.

If you need a Waldorf personal injury attorney, contact us today for a free consultation. And discover everything you need to know with our Free Legal Guide to Car Accident Cases in Maryland. Know your options and be informed before you make big decisions about your accident case.

What Evidence Should You Get

In a word – photographs. Everyone has a cell phone these days. So take a bunch of pictures. Our post about what to do after a car accident explains it all in detail. But here is a quick checklist of the various photographs I would like you to get at the scene of a car accident.

• Your car. You can get more detailed pictures later, but at least take a few on scene.
• The other driver’s car. Take a LOT of these from various angles. We will not easily be able to get these at a later date.
• The other driver’s license plate.
• The other driver’s license, registration, and car insurance card (as I said above).
• The other driver. You may have to ID this person at a trial years from now. Snap a quick picture of the driver now so you won’t forget what they look like.
• The scene. Stand back and take a wider angle photo of the scene of the accident. We want to see both cars, and any traffic control devices, street signs, and the like. This can be very important if liability is challenged later.
• Your injuries. If you are visibly injured, try to take some photos at the scene. I hate asking this, but it could be valuable later. So try to do it if you can.

Also, get the contact information of any witnesses.Don’t rely on the police to do that. Sometimes they forget, or get a wrong number.

The Lying Driver

A woman once rear-ended me at a stop sign. I was stopped waiting for traffic and she just wasn’t paying attention. It happened at the top of an off ramp from a busy highway. It was a lower speed accident.

It was obviously her fault. It was not a serious car accident. Neither one of us was injured. It was a property damage accident only.

My bumper was dinged, but no big deal. Her hood was all bunched up. Her car was drivable, but she couldn’t open the hood. She had much worse damage than I did! I drove away no problem at all.

The lady was EXTREMELY nice and apologetic. She apologized profusely on the scene. I had to repeatedly reassure her that it was ok. I actually felt bad for her. She was dressed nicely and told me she was going to meet someone for dinner. She admitted to being distracted and nervous and just didn’t pay attention to her driving. I wasn’t doing anything special. She didn’t mess up my evening.

This whole thing was a minor inconvenience for me. It was a major problem for her. And it was obviously her fault. I told her “that’s what insurance companies are for” and reassured her it was no big deal.

I didn’t think much of it. We exchanged information and went our separate ways.

The next day, I got a call from my insurance company wanting to know what happened. Turns out, when she reported the accident to her insurance company, she blamed me. She claimed I rolled backwards into her!

I was flabbergasted. How in the world did that nice, sweet lady turn into a total liar? I hadn’t taken any pictures or gathered any evidence, because it was so obvious and she admitted fault on the scene.

Lucky for me, they caught her in that lie. When I told the adjuster where the accident happened, and he saw that it was on an incline going uphill, he asked me if I had an automatic transmission (I am dating myself. This was a few years ago when it wasn’t obvious everyone had automatics.)  I did, so it wasn’t possible for me to roll backwards into her.

Her own insurance company didn’t back her up. I guess it was either so obvious or she fessed up later. Her insurer paid for my bumper, and my insurance didn’t pay anything.

As I said, this was a few years ago. I was a relatively new attorney then. After 30+ years as a personal injury attorney, I would almost expect such a thing now. But I genuinely liked that lady and felt bad for her then. It still makes me shake my head to think that she later decided to tell a bald faced lie.

The Mistaken Driver

That is why I handled it differently a few years ago when someone pulled out in front of me in a parking lot. This was also a very low speed accident. It was property damage only. Everyone’s car was drivable. Not a big deal.

This driver was not so nice. But at least he was honest. He said he thought it was my fault and seemed a bit angry. But he didn’t try to make up any facts about how the accident happened. He wasn’t a liar. He was just wrong.

I didn’t bother getting into it with him. I told him I do this for a living and we would just let the insurance companies sort it out. I took a bunch of pictures on my cell phone showing the damage and the scene. (Very important, if you are in an accident please get pictures of the wider scene so you can see what happened, not just close ups of the car damage!)

He did try to claim it wasn’t his fault. He blamed me for “driving too fast.” That wasn’t true. He just wasn’t looking when he pulled out so he never saw me.

Not a big deal. Simple mistake.

I just told my story to my insurance company and sent them the pictures. He was found to be at fault and his insurer paid to fix my car. I was glad I had photographs of everything.

Well, almost everything. I forgot to take a snap shot of his license plate. It turned out not to matter, but the insurance adjuster teased me about it. He said “you’re an attorney and you didn’t get a photo of his license plate?” We both laughed. But he was right. I should have done that too.

Conclusion

Want to Know More? Discover what you need to know in our Free Legal Guide to Car Accident Cases in Maryland. Know your options. Be informed. Protect yourself.

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Author: This content was written and approved by Tucker Clagett, an attorney at Southern Maryland Law – Andrews, Bongar, Gormley & Clagett.