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If you’ve been in a Georgia auto accident, and you’ve sustained injuries through the fault of another driver, then you are entitled to compensation for your injuries, property damage, and other losses. That compensation should come from the insurance policy of the at fault driver. However, you are tasked with proving, not only the liability of the other driver, but the severity of your injuries, your actual expenses, your non-economic damages, and more. If you don’t have enough physical evidence to prove these factors, then the insurance company might deny your claim or minimize it substantially.
If the insurance company denies your claim or if you refuse to accept an unfairly low settlement, and the case ends up going to trial, then you still have to provide the evidence and prove the case, even more so when it comes to a trial, or the whole case could be thrown out and you will get nothing.
What Do You Have to Prove to Recover Compensation for Your Damages?
To begin with, you have to prove liability. This involves establishing that the other driver owed you a duty of care, that he or she breached that duty, and that this breach of duty resulted in your injuries, damages, and all associated costs. You then have to prove the extent of your injuries, the extent of your damages, the actual economic losses and costs associated with these issues, and the non-economic losses, like pain and suffering, that you may hope to recover.
You need physical evidence to prove these things. That can come in the form of police reports, indicating that the other driver violated a traffic law; in the form of medical records and reports, indicating the severity and treatment of your injuries; in the form of photographs, taken at the scene of the accident and of the associated damages and injuries; and in the form of bills, estimates, and receipts associated with your various medical expenses, property repairs, and more.
What If You Are Short On Physical Evidence?
If you don’t have enough physical evidence, then it is very likely that your claim will either be denied or minimized by the insurance company. With the help of a Georgia auto accident lawyer, you may be able to present a stronger case to the insurance company with the assistance of legal representation and the resources available to your attorney. For example, your attorney can gather the necessary documents that will be used as evidence, if those documents exist. Your attorney could also consult with expert witnesses, like medical professionals and accident reconstructionists, to strengthen your claim.
Yet the most valuable asset you may have, depending on the case, if you don’t have a lot of physical evidence, could be your witnesses. In some cases, you might have plenty of medical evidence and evidence of lost wages and property damage, but no evidence of liability. In such cases, eye witnesses could be extremely useful by explaining what they saw, to establish fault.
How Can You Find Witnesses of the Accident?
If there were passengers in your vehicle who were aware of the circumstances of the incident, then these individuals could serve as witnesses. However, their testimony will not be as strong as the testimony of any individuals who were not involved, but saw what happened.
The more objective the witness, the better, so it will often come down to people who don’t know you or the other person, but saw what each of you did or didn’t do to cause the accident. How do you find these people, when you don’t even know them? This is where we return to the importance of everything that you do after a Georgia auto accident occurs. Among these important steps is the process of gathering the contact information of anyone who saw what happened or provided assistance.
If you do this, then you have that information to fall back on when you need evidence. Your attorney can use the contact information of those witnesses to find them and discuss the accident.
Other Ways to Strengthen Your Auto Accident Claim
It is important to note that you may not have witnesses after an auto accident claim, or those witnesses may not have seen enough to provide adequate testimony. Yet, witnesses become less essential when you take further steps to ensure that you are able to prove your claim, later. This means that you need to take photos of all injuries, the position and damage of the vehicles, any relevant road signs, etc. You also need to report the incident to the police, and seek medical treatment right away. Your actions and the steps you take after the accident will be the best way to prove your case later.
Contact the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates
Perhaps the most important step you can take following a Georgia auto accident is to contact an attorney, get a free consultation, get your questions answered, and then benefit from the guidance and representation that an attorney can provide. Contact the determined car crash lawyer in Douglasville at the Law Offices of John B. Jackson & Associates today to schedule your free consultation and start moving forward with your claim.
