Getting injured in a car accident can be a stressful and frightening experience, especially if the other driver caused the accident. Fortunately, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries if you are not at fault. However, the at-fault driver and their insurance company will try to suppress you by claiming that the negligent driver was you in an attempt to prove they were not at fault. Therefore, it is beneficial to consult a personal injury lawyer los angeles, who will look after your case and perform an investigation.
What do you need to prove fault in a car accident?
When filing a claim for your car accident with the negligent driver’s car insurance company, you must establish your right to compensation for your injuries. You need to establish the following things to prove fault in a car accident.
- The driver must drive reasonably safely on the road.
- The driver was negligent and could not obey the rules and exercise reasonable care while driving
- The driver’s negligence caused an accident
- The accident caused physical damage to you
How will you prove the other driver was at-fault?
Even if you can clear-cut understand that other drivers’ liability caused the accident, you still have to prove that you were not at fault by providing legit information.
Contact the police
Contact the police at the accident scene. When the police arrive, they will make a police report based on their judgment. Obtain a copy of the police report. This report contains helpful information that you can use to establish the other party’s fault, such as their statement to the police, a sketch of how the accident occurred and who was at fault, or if any traffic citations were issued. It will also help you when filing an insurance claim.
Take pictures
Every cellphone has cameras now. You can take photos of the accident scene to use later to provide evidence to prove your case. Take pictures of the vehicles, damages to the cars, including yours, injuries you incurred, and photographs of the eyewitnesses. If you cannot click images, ask any other person or a bystander to do it for you.
Speak to the witnesses
It is vital that you collect the statement and contact information of any eyewitnesses who saw the whole incident before leaving the accident scene. Third-party neutral witnesses are helpful for your claim to provide strong evidence to make the insurance company convinced that you were not at fault.