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Analyzing Evidence And Compensation Potential After An Accident

If you were involved in an accident, it's tempting to leave the assessments and financial estimates to insurance companies. Especially if you're the innocent party, it seems reasonable that your side will take the other side for everything possible under the law, and your main worry is getting your fair share.

Unfortunately, insurance systems and legal judgment can allow a few vital problems to slip through the cracks. Here are a few issues to keep in mind as you defend your side of the legal challenge and seek the right level of compensation.

Was The Accident Recorded?

In many accident situations, much of the fault is obvious. Except for criminal accident fraud rings that create staged accidents, it's fairly easy for law enforcement and legal representatives to see how the damage occurred and who is responsible for the incident.

There are times where the fault isn't so obvious. If the damage is on the side of the vehicles and the impact isn't noticeably worse on either vehicle in a way that shows direction or loss of control, an investigation has to go deeper. Although there are many forensic evidence-gathering techniques that law enforcement can use, don't rely on their work alone; track down recordings.

Cameras are everywhere these days. From smartphones and other mobile devices to the increasingly affordable surveillance cameras with high definition (HD) as the new normal, there could have been a recording of your accident.

Interview businesses near the accident location and ask if their cameras could have captured video from the accident. This is possible because some outdoor surveillance cameras can point far enough to capture road footage, especially when businesses need to point their cameras outward to capture video of an escaping video.

To connect with individuals who could have recorded any accident information, seek social media and local newsgroups. Using websites such as Facebook and Twitter to ask the public for accident evidence can spread quickly, and you can also ask newsgroups to give a short announcement about your search.

Compensation Goes Beyond Car Repairs

The more obvious compensation points are medical bill coverage and car repairs. If you're involved in an accident and it wasn't your fault, the other party should be responsible for at least those two issues.

Look a little closer to find out other areas of loss. Did you miss work because of the accident, either because of your injuries or your lack of transportation? Did you have to borrow money to get rides from others, or deal with hardship to get assistance? Document every extra action that was necessary due to the accident and let an attorney sort it out.

Contractors may have a harder time justifying their expenses unless the accident happened during an active contract, but don't give up. Give your attorney a detailed set of past contract earnings to show a trend in your employment.

Contact an automobile accident law office to discuss your situation, and to get help with finding the right level of compensation.


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