After the stress of a serious accident, it is often easy for victims to forget some of the most important details that can help them build a strong personal injury case. Detailed photo documentation often reveals obvious and subtle details that may be forgotten, and can preserve evidence that may change or be altered over time.
Keep in mind that accident scenes are often cleared quickly so traffic can resume. So this is your only opportunity to document the accident exactly as it was at the time and to obtain real-time evidence of cause and negligence. The camera on your smartphone is a great tool in this situation.
Tips for taking photos at the scene of an accident:
- Photograph the entire scene, including wide shots from several angles.
- Get close-ups of your car's damage from different angles.
- Photograph traffic indicators, lights, and signs around the accident.
- Photograph all other vehicles involved in the accident, including damage and their location. Also photograph the license plate of the other cars.
- Photograph weather conditions, including the sun or moon to indicate the time of day and visibility.
- Photograph damage to the surrounding property, signs, guardrails or trees.
- Photograph evidence like skid marks, broken glass and damaged car parts around the scene.
- Photograph all participants, including the at-fault driver, any passengers, witnesses (obtain their photos if they have any), police officers and paramedics.
- Photograph all visible injuries sustained by you, the at-fault driver and passengers. Also document your injuries in the following days to show bruises, discoloration, swelling and any injuries that develop later.
- Enable the time and date stamp function for all photos. If your phone doesn’t have this feature, there are many photo taking apps that do.
If you were seriously injured and were not able to take photos of the accident, there are still ways to gather evidence. In some cases, a nearby security camera or another driver’s dash cam may be able to provide useful evidence. An experienced law firm like Hupy and Abraham can retrieve this.
If you or a loved one has been in an automobile, motorcycle or bicycle accident, many steps need to be taken right away, and the experienced personal injury attorneys at Hupy and Abraham can help. For more information, check out The First 10 for a checklist of what to do in the first 10 minutes and 10 hours following an accident, and request our FREE brochure – After an Accident: What to Expect.
For a free consultation, please contact Hupy and Abraham at 800-800-5678, or start a live chat with us anytime at Hupy.com.