Try to Get Photos After a Car Accident
The photos you take at the scene of a car accident can provide important evidence for negotiations with insurance companies and, if necessary, in a car accident lawsuit.
These days, almost everyone who has a car also has a cell phone that can take pictures at much higher resolutions than the consumer cameras of our childhood were able to take; plenty of people who are too young to drive also have such cameras on their phones. Even better, the pictures are ready for immediate viewing, so you can retake them within seconds if they are not clear enough. Taking pictures on your cell phone immediately after a car accident can help you get a better settlement offer from the insurance company. If you decide to file a lawsuit instead of accepting the insurance company’s settlement offer, the pictures you take immediately after the accident can serve as strong evidence in court. Taking pictures is one of the first things you should do after a car accident, and one of the next things you should do is contact a Murrieta car accident lawyer.
Cell Phone Cameras to the Rescue
Cell phones can literally be a life saver in the event of a car accident, if only because you can use them to call 911 immediately after the accident, thereby getting prompt medical attention. Unless you are too seriously injured to take pictures, you should photograph certain elements of the scene of the accident. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and taking pictures with your cell phone can help you show, not tell, how the accident happened. If you show the pictures to the doctors and nurses who treat you in the emergency room, the medical report you receive will contain a more accurate description of the cause of your injuries. Likewise, when the insurance company sees the pictures, they will not have to base their allocations of fault solely on verbal descriptions they receive from you and from the other driver.
Pictures of the vehicles involved in the accident, taken from at least four angles, are of the most interest to insurance adjusters, but there are other ways your phone can be helpful. Taking a panoramic video of the car is even better. If the other driver leaves the scene of the accident, you or a passenger may be able to photograph the car, even if it leaves the scene so quickly that your image cannot clearly show its license plate. Likewise, if possible, you should record a voice memo on your phone with your recollections from the accident.
The more pictures and videos you have of the accident, the more likely the insurance company is to offer you a reasonable settlement amount. If they do not, then your cell phone camera footage will help you negotiate a satisfactory settlement with the defendant in a car accident lawsuit or persuade a judge that your interpretation of events is correct.
Contact the Murrieta Car Accident Lawyers at Gibbs & Fuerst
Remember, cell phones are not just for taking pictures. You can also use your cell phone to contact a Murrieta car accident lawyer. Contact Gibbs & Fuerst LLPonline or call 951-816-3435 to find out if you have a case.