Do you know what you would do if you were involved in a serious car accident? Many people might think to call for the police, which may result in a police report being generated.
Although the report itself may be inadmissible as hearsay, the facts contained in the report may help an attorney to build a strong personal injury case. For example, the report’s descriptions may lead to evidentiary discoveries such as locating an eyewitness, finding accident evidence such as skid marks, or even a video recording by a traffic camera or dash cam. Expert analysis and/or accident reconstruction of such evidence may then result in a persuasive presentation to the jury.
A recent story suggests that an additional crash scene step could also later prove beneficial in a lawsuit: Using one’s smartphone to find and contact an attorney. The driver in the story used a smartphone app to find and contact a criminal defense attorney, as he was arrested for drunk driving. However, the analogy applies to any crash situation, including a crash victim who intends to seek compensation for another driver’s negligence via a personal injury lawsuit.
Our Alabama personal injury law firm has a significant technical library and expert witness bank, in addition to our own litigation experience. If contacted by a potential client at the scene of a crash, we may be able to offer strategic advice. A member of our team may even be available to examine the crash scene, as our firm also employs six paralegals and two full-time investigators to assist our nine attorneys.
Source: 9and10news.com, “App helps Iowa man get drunken driving conviction tossed,” Ryan J. Foley, May 25, 2016
