5 Types of Evidence Gathered in Personal Injury Cases

When someone suffers from an injury as a result of another person’s negligence, they may decide to pursue a claim for damages. As you might expect, an important part of any personal injury claim is the evidence. Strong evidence can help a Florida injury attorney prepare a thorough case for you against the negligent party legally responsible for causing your damages. 

If you have been involved in any type of accident and have questions about evidence, contact a Florida injury attorney at Searcy Denney. Our attorneys have extensive experience helping clients injured in accidents receive the full compensation available to them under the law. They can walk you through the process of gathering evidence and advocate for your needs from start to finish.  

Your attorney will likely work on collecting evidence as the process unfolds. That said, you can help your lawyer get caught up on your case and begin the investigation if you can initially gather and share evidence you have collected on your case. This means to document what happened such as photos or videos, relevant documents and a list of possible witnesses.

When you work with one of our injury attorneys, they will likely be interested in gathering these five types of evidence (among others) to support your claim: 

1.  Accident Report

Did the police respond to the incident? If you were injured on the premises of a local business, did you inform that company? Accident reports (or incident reports) are often seen as an objective and factual description of everything that happened. They could be even more credible when completed by a law enforcement officer, especially if the other party was cited for a violation. 

An accident report generally includes some type of recap of the incident that occurred and the damages that were caused. It may also include information and testimonies from witnesses and all involved parties, and possibly even diagrams or pictures of the area.

You should be able to contact the law enforcement agency that was present at the scene to receive a copy of this report. If you have difficulty getting a copy, your Florida injury attorney can help.

2.  Physical Evidence

Physical evidence can offer powerful proof to convince a jury that an incident unfolded in a certain manner. When someone is injured, there is often – but not always – tangible evidence to help substantiate the claim of who is at fault for damages. 

The types of physical evidence will vary based on the nature of the incident that occurred. The objects could include, for example, broken glass, tools, weapons, or even pieces of clothing. This type of evidence could also be large, such as heavy equipment, debris, or a wrecked vehicle.  

3.  Photo and Video Footage

Of course, it’s not always possible to preserve the tangible evidence listed above. For example, tire tracks in mud or skid marks will fade over time, and floodwaters or storm surges could begin to recede. Likewise, your initial injuries that provide evidence of the damage will begin to heal over time. That’s one reason why photo and video footage could be another critical form of evidence for your case, as it can help document accident-related issues in a timely manner.

That said, it’s good practice to collect footage of the scene of the incident, your initial injuries, and any medical operations.

• Video Evidence: Surveillance camera footage from a local business, a traffic camera, a dashcam, or even a recording from a neighbor’s video doorbell could all contain pivotal proof that the other party was acting negligently or even maliciously. If these devices recorded and stored the footage, it could be very helpful for your claim.

• Photo Evidence: Taking pictures of the scene of the accident or your injuries is also important. It’s likely a good idea to obtain files of any photos that were taken by you, a witness, or a law enforcement officer. If no one took photos at the time, it could still be helpful in some cases to go back and take pictures of the site where the incident took place.

4.  Documentation

Proper and relevant documentation can be helpful in proving the extent of your injuries and other losses you suffered. Most evidence that supports a personal injury case exists in documentation. Some examples of important documentation include, but are not limited to:

• Medical Records: You will likely want to keep track of the costs and results of any medical care related to the accident. This could include bills, receipts, and paperwork related to hospital visits, doctor’s office appointments, prescriptions written and filled, x-rays, surgical records, diagnostic test results, rehabilitation, transportation, and at-home or long-term care. These items could confirm the nature and effects (both short-term and long-term) of your injury.

• Lost Income: Serious injuries can cause you to miss work for a period of time – or even permanently if you suffer a disability that prevents you from being able to ever work again. As a result, you may have lost wages or experienced a reduction in potential future earnings. It’s possible to prove this with financial documents like pay stubs and W-2s. 

• Policy Documentation: This may not apply in all cases, but certain signed documents – such as an insurance policy, agreement, or release form – could help communicate how a policy might apply to a claim.  

5.  Testimony

If other people witnessed what happened – or if they could otherwise corroborate your claim that the other party was liable – your Florida injury attorney will want to reach out to learn more about what they saw. Testimonies can be helpful pieces of evidence to use during the claim process or litigation.

Likewise, there may be times where your attorney uses the testimony of an expert witness who has extensive training and experience in their field. A medical or financial expert – or someone who can reconstruct accidents – can be brought in to objectively review the evidence and share their informed opinion about what took place.

A Florida Injury Lawyer Can Help. Call Searcy Denney Today for  A Legal Consultation

Dealing with an injury can be overwhelming and stressful, but you don’t have to go it alone. A Florida injury lawyer at Searcy Denney is ready to work with you and help get you the compensation you deserve. Our experienced attorneys have helped people injured in accidents recover millions in damages via settlements and court verdicts. 

Call us toll-free at 800-780-8607 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation. We have offices conveniently located in Tampa, West Palm Beach, and Tallahassee.