Even though they aren’t accident injury lawyers, most of the clients I speak with know how important visual evidence can be to a case. There are many ways to preserve visual evidence following any type of injury such as a car accident, motorcycle crash, truck accident, injury from a product, slip and fall or animal attack.
Let’s take a car accident for example. I have had clients bring in a disposable camera following an auto accident before. We oftentimes hear how important it is to have safety gear in our vehicles in the event of a car breakdown (flares, jump cables) but what about in the event of a car accident? Hopefully, you will never be forced to endure a car accident. If the unfortunate car crash occurs, however, it is better to be prepared. I encourage my clients to keep a disposable camera in their car along with a notepad to jot down exactly what happened immediately following a crash, the license plate and color of the car at fault, and the names of everyone involved.
This may sounds like overkill but as a St. Louis accident injury attorney, I have seen many circumstances where the police report was wrong or the police officer simply didn’t take photographs of the scene for whatever reason. If you can, it would be extremely helpful to your case if you are able to take photographs of the cars involved, any debris or skid marks on the roadway. I found a pretty good guide on how to document an accident scene here. Of course, do not do anything that would put your safety in jeapordy. It is also important to keep track of your experienced pain following a crash. While your doctors will note your progress in their medical records, no one knows better than you what pain you are feeling and how your life is affected as a result of the car crash. Overall, think ahead so that you are prepared in the vent of a Missouri car accident.