Evidence in a DC car accident can significantly impact your case. It’s important to understand that you bear the legal burden of proof as the victim and plaintiff. Even if the other driver is clearly at fault, the law still requires you to prove they caused your injuries and were liable. This may seem unfair, but it’s how our legal system operates. A skilled DC car accident lawyer from Gelb & Gelb can assist you. We will help you prove each element of your case by a preponderance of the evidence, which is the civil standard of proof. It’s crucial to note that the burden of proof in a civil case differs from a criminal case, where the prosecutor must prove the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury.
In a civil trial, we must prove the defendant is liable, not guilty, by a preponderance of the evidence. That means the evidence must show that our assertions are more likely than not true. There are rules of evidence in court. These rules of evidence keep some evidence out of the courtroom while permitting others. While you only need to understand some of these rules as they are highly complex, certain critical bits of information you should collect are vital to your case. We will discuss which pieces of evidence to gather at the accident scene. Beyond that, your injury lawyer can assist in gathering additional evidence and building your case.
When you are still at the accident scene, the first thing to do is ensure your safety. That means pulling off to the side of the road. If you stay in the road and impede traffic, you risk being clipped by another negligent driver. Once you pull off, check yourself for injuries. With the adrenaline present in a car accident, you may not immediately realize that you are hurt. You may have broken bones or other common injuries. You should also contact the police. Call paramedics if necessary. The paramedics will check you out and determine whether going to the emergency room is worthwhile. Calling the police has an added benefit. They will create a police report. While we cannot use the police report as evidence in a DC car accident, the report does have fundamental uses to aid the settlement negotiation process.
Once that step is completed, capture evidence. Take pictures of the property damage to your vehicle and any other vehicles involved. Ensure you capture every angle with physical harm. These photographs are evidence and can be highly beneficial in proving how the accident occurred. With the help of an accident reconstruction expert witness, we can authenticate your photos at trial and have the expert explain how the accident transpired based on the damage to each vehicle. But that is not all you should take pictures of.
Document skid marks, road conditions, traffic signs, and any injuries sustained. Skid marks, in particular, can aid the accident reconstruction expert explain how the accident occurred. The defense may argue that the skid marks were from an old accident. However, a good expert will be able to identify the tires on your vehicle and whether they match the skid marks on the street. An important note is that these photos should be taken with a smartphone. The technology should stamp the date, time, and, ideally, address where the images were taken.
Not all evidence is admissible at trial. Here, we discuss the most common pieces of evidence in a DC car accident.
Testimony comes from two sources. The first is an eyewitness. Eyewitness testimony is valuable at trial and qualifies as evidence. While it is not always as persuasive to a jury as a photograph, sometimes it is more so. It depends on the credibility of the witness. If it is an uncredible witness, the defense team may try to undermine the witness further. There are many ways to do this. They may introduce factors that would point to a bias. For example, if the eyewitness is related to the plaintiff, that is admissible as evidence because it may tell the jury that the witness is biased and thus lying on the stand.
There is a lot of confusion regarding hearsay. Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to the court for its truth. So, a witness can introduce a hearsay statement if the purpose of introducing the statement is not for the truth of the matter but rather to prove some collateral fact. However, there are still foundational rules of evidence that may bar the statement’s admissibility. The statement must be probative to reach its proof purpose. Additionally, its value must outweigh any prejudicial value. You do not need to understand these rules, as your attorney will explain them to you as they come up in your case. However, this discussion provides an excellent foundation of evidentiary rules of witness testimony in a car accident case in DC.
We discussed photographs above, yet they are a critical component of evidence in a DC car accident, which is why they are mentioned here.
We need evidence that the defendant committed the tort, not just to prove liability. We also need evidence that you suffered damages and that the defendant’s negligence proximately caused them. Physical injuries constitute legal damages. But how do we prove these damages? We can examine your treating physician on the witness stand. However, medical documentation will establish the nature and extent of your injuries. In your medical records, your doctor has written whether he believes, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that your injuries were caused by a DC car accident. While technically hearsay, medical records fall under an exception to hearsay and are admissible. They will not testify whether the defendant is liable or how the accident occurred. They merely will testify that your injuries were caused by a car accident on a given date.
Your medical records establish what injuries you sustained. For example, if you fractured your rib, your medical records will say what type of break you suffered, how long you were treated for, and what kind of treatment you received. When a jury states your pain and suffering award, all three critical elements are considered. Medical records are necessary evidence to establish this.
Surveillance footage is not always available. When available, it is convincing evidence for a jury to prove liability. While it will not prove damages, it can show how severe a car accident is. Moreover, depending on its angle, it can establish how the accident occurred. Sometimes, eyewitness testimony is unclear. The witness may not speak English well or be unsure of how the accident transpired. Surveillance footage is objective evidence that is difficult to dispute when the jury sees how the accident happened. Accordingly, we will obtain surveillance footage if we deem it appropriate to prove liability in your case.
The trusted car accident attorneys at Gelb & Gelb, P.C. have handled evidence in a DC car accident for 70 years. Having represented thousands of clients in Washington, D.C., we have a depth of experience and are positioned to help you.
If you have any questions, please call our office today at (202) 331-7227 for a free consultation.
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