Smartphones can be seen almost everywhere, and people seem unable to put them down. Unfortunately, that nonstop usage also continues after some individuals get behind the wheel.
As a law firm that focuses on car and truck accidents, we have seen how persuasive electronically stored information can be to a jury. Expert testimony can be used to interpret cellular data and determine whether a defendant was likely on his or her smartphone at the time of a collision.
In fact, other types of evidence from a car accident may also be collected in electronic form. Photographs of the crash scene and/or of skid marks on the road might be taken with a digital camera. If a traffic light was ignored, nearby traffic cams might have captured that violation. Other witnesses may have captured the crash on their cell phones. Even police accident reports may be taken and stored in electronic format. All of this indicates a trend of creating, collecting and producing evidence in electronic form.
Our personal injury firm is well versed in electronic evidence gathering and analysis. We use the rules of civil procedure to subpoena relevant evidence from third parties. Those same rules permit document requests to be made of the defendant in a civil lawsuit. We also understand the consequences that can be applied to defendants who failed to preserve electronic evidence. In that regard, Alabama adopted much of the e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
If you have been injured by a negligent driver, make sure you consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who can utilize all available techniques for building a strong case.
Source: FindLaw, “eDiscovery Federal Rule 37: Failure to Preserve Electronically Stored Information,” copyright 2016, Thomson Reuters
