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When you become an adult, you need to take responsibility if you do something wrong. If you try to blame someone else, you’re doing yourself a disservice. People will not like or trust you if you don’t show integrity.
That’s the case with car accidents as well. If another car hits your vehicle, or if you hit theirs, then you might feel it’s obviously the other driver’s fault. If they get out of the car and start accusing you, or they do so later, you’ll rightly feel upset about that.
Protecting your rights after a car accident with legal help then becomes necessary. You probably don’t want to hire a lawyer, but you may have to do exactly that.
In this article, we’ll talk about how you can prove your innocence following a car accident.
You Need to Locate an Expert Personal Injury Lawyer
Let’s say that a car hits your vehicle, and you feel certain you can blame the other driver. You did nothing wrong, and maybe the other driver doesn’t blame you at the scene. Later, though, when you’re trying to collect the money to pay for your vehicle’s repairs, and possibly lost wages and medical bills as well, you learn that the other driver changed their tune.
Now, they’re blaming you. If you live in a no-fault state, that shouldn’t matter much, unless you don’t have an insurance policy that covers all the damages. If you live in an at-fault state, though, who caused the accident matters a lot more.
You will probably need to hire a lawyer at this point. You will want to get one on your side who knows all about these kinds of legal cases and has represented many clients in situations just like yours.
You can tell them what happened and get their opinion. If they agree to represent you, then the two of you can start working together to collect evidence that proves your version of events.
You Can Uncover Photos or Video That Prove Your Version of Events
If you need to appear in court with your lawyer to oppose the other driver, then you will want as much physical evidence as you can find. A jury will probably respond favorably if you sue the other driver and you have a mountain of evidence that makes it obvious that they caused the accident and you did not.
If you can find any photos or video that show the accident or the scene right afterward, that’s often helpful. Maybe you took some pictures with your smartphone camera right after the wreck. Perhaps you took some video. Most cell phones can take pictures and record video these days, and getting documentation right after a wreck always makes sense.
If you can’t find pictures or videos that way, then your lawyer’s investigator might uncover some. Lawyers in the personal injury niche often have investigators who work for them. They might get store camera footage or traffic camera footage from near the crash site if anything like that exists.
You Can Look for Useful Documentation
You can also try to get any documentation that might prove your version of events. Often, the police will give you a car accident report right after the crash. This report will mention details that might help establish who caused the wreck.
For instance, if the police report says that your car was in a certain lane and the other vehicle pushed it out of that lane and into oncoming traffic, then telling the jury that at a trial if you sue the other driver can help prove your case. If the other driver gives a version of events that the police report refutes, that strengthens your case as well.
You Can Use an Expert Witness
Your attorney may elect to bring in an expert witness and have them take the stand. If they do, that expert witness might give testimony based on physical evidence they found indicating you’re telling the truth about the crash and the other driver isn’t.
An expert witness might use pictures or diagrams to show each car’s position at the crash site. They might point to skid marks on the ground and explain what they mean. If they can present this evidence in a way so that a layperson can understand it, then that might add to the evidence in your favor.
You Can Find Eyewitnesses
If you can find some eyewitnesses who saw the crash, that’s even better. If you and the other driver hit each other while out on a deserted road somewhere, that’s not ideal. If you hit each other in an area with some houses or businesses around, then it’s likely a few people saw what happened.
If your lawyer can get them on the stand and have them testify as to what they saw, that can back up what you say happened as well. If they say the other driver exceeded the speed limit or that they swerved out of their lane, then it’s likely you’ll win your case.
You Can Look on Social Media for Evidence
Your lawyer’s investigator might look on social media as well. Many times, someone will post on social media about something that happened. Even if it might hurt the other driver’s case later, maybe they can’t help but post something that you can then use to disprove what they say happened.
If you can collect enough evidence and you show it to a jury, then you can more than likely win your case or force a settlement. If the other driver backs down and admits that they lied or at least that they mispresented the facts in this case, you should be able to get a satisfactory conclusion.
When that happens, the other driver should give you the money that you can use to pay your medical bills, repair your car, etc. You can also pay your lawyer with part of your winnings.