In A Negligence Related Auto Accident, Phones Are Critical Evidence
Brian O Sutter
Traffic Accidents
If you are ever unfortunate enough to get involved in an automobile accident and you know that you are not at fault, you have legal options. Negligence while driving is, unfortunately, a common act on our roadways, and drivers have failed to drive responsibly in numerous ways. While drunk driving is still one of the most tragic and severely punished of negligent driving offenses, there’s a new contender that’s rising up in the ranks as one of the most common—and serious—causes of auto accidents. Distracted driving—usually as a result of paying more attention to a smartphone than the driving environment—is causing more and more accidents across America every single day.But fortunately for you, the very nature of distracted driving means that in a case of negligence you and the person that caused the accident may both have in your hands the keys to your winning a negligence case, and that is your phones.
Evidence Collector
Your phone can take pictures, videos and even record audio. All of this means that you have a tool right at your disposal to collect evidence at an accident scene while it’s still fresh. Take photos of the cars, the damage, any injuries that people may have sustained. Shoot video with comments from both yourself and the other party involved in the accident.
It is important to document as much of the accident as possible as all this data can be of great use, especially to insurance companies that may need to determine damages or assign fault. If you are in a situation where you are able bodied enough to collect evidence, and no one else in your car or the other car requires assistance, take the time to get as much raw accident information as you can, while everything is fresh.
Evidence Itself
If you suspect that distracted driving because of phone usage was the culprit for the accident that you were involved with, then the other driver’s own phone is going to be a critical piece of evidence in a negligence personal injury lawsuit.
This is where things may get complicated, especially if the other driver knows that he or she was being negligent and realizes the same thing you do; that the phone is proof. If, for example, the driver was “taking selfies,” that is, using the phone take photographs or shoot videos of themselves rather than pay attention to the road, then there’s a chance that they may simply delete those photos, or videos in order to evade the charge in court.
However, if the other driver was using social media, such as text messages, or even sending the photo and video to friends on Facebook, Twitter, or other online communication software, then a record of their activity exists, even if they delete the actual images from their phone. Their photo or video will still be on social media, and even if they delete the image from social media, a record of that activity will still be logged by the social media itself, complete with time stamps.
Get The Representation You Deserve
All Injuries Law Firm is here to help the citizens of Sarasota and Charlotte Counties to get the compensation they deserve when someone hurts them. If you’ve been wronged by the carelessness of someone else, we want to hear about it, and help you to make things right.