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Accident evidence, police, witnesses and procedures, the importance of preserving evidence after an accident, police procedures, collecting and preserving evidence that will be important to your accident claim
Who thinks of preserving the evidence of the accident, at the point of injury? In truth no-one. Everyone is concerned with the injury. But it is quite soon afterwards that the effects of the injury sink into the conscience of the injured and their families. The more serious the injury then the more concern will be shown.
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The first port of call for evidence of the accident will always be the Police. However the level of reporting may concern you if the truth were known. Are you going to rely on the report made by the uniform officer who attended the accident?
Under the Civil Procedure Rules Police Officers rarely give evidence in trials for compensation in the County Courts. The officer's opinion is taken into account because he is seen as the independent witness fairly reporting the incident.
What happens if he has not examined all the facts? Nothing.
It is up to you to ensure that your evidence of who was to blame for the accident is heard in the court, or more likely is considered by lawyers for the insurance company when deciding the issue of liability. Even your own solicitors, including those that we advise you have to act for you, will rely on information that you provide. All solicitors act on instructions of their clients.
A police officer's opinion could either be very helpful or very unhelpful to ones case. Most Police Officers will report accidents as a "Knock for Knock" accident and rarely will give an opinion that one party was to blame over the other. Perceptions of what happened during an accident will always be a factor in the final written report. The more perception that you have in your favour will be of benefit to you.
Evidence to the level needed for a prosecution requires witnesses and that means more work for the officers involved. As time is a valuable resource to the average Police Officer the result is that many accidents are not investigated to the level necessary for proof of fault. Then of course the Crown Prosecution Service have to be sure that a conviction will follow. The cards are stacked against a criminal conviction. Even the most serious of injuries will fall through the net unless you take some positive action. This action may be very simple or require a full accident reconstruction. Each case will be different.
Workplace accidents require you or your manager to report the incident in an accident book or register. This should be done immediately or failing that as soon as possible.
Remember to keep a copy of the accident report, what a tragedy if it went missing!
You or someone looking after your interests must visit the scene of the accident. This is an important first step in the gathering of evidence.
Photograph the scene. Imagine trying to describe what happened to someone in a court room years after the accident. Photographs ensure the scene is as it was on the day of the accident before any major changes to the scene, road or road furniture can be made.
Write down an account of the incident if you can of everything that happened, as soon as you can. If you are unable seek out someone close to you to help you.
One easy tactic is to knock on a few doors at the scene of the accident and try and trace some witnesses. Put out your own witness boards if the scene is in the middle of nowhere on a lonely road.
How far you go is likely to relate to the seriousness of the injury that you have. I don't suggest that you do all this for a relatively minor injury.
Remember that if you are partially to blame you may still have a compensation claim that will only be reduced because of something called Contributory Negligence. You may win your case but you contributed to the accident by a certain percentage.
Insurance companies use this tactic all the time. They may say they admit liability but only for 85% or less for example. They save a considerable amount of money on this simple tactic. The problem is in court most judges will say you are partially to blame if you were moving! That's the way they think. Mentor Experiences seek to ensure that any percentage of contributory negligence is minimised.
Visiting the scene and trying to trace and talk to witnesses might have a beneficial effect on an otherwise hopeless case. It might bring to light a cause that was unknown. An example of this may be an adverse camber of the road surface.
Keep an open mind until you have all the facts. This may seem to be grasping at straws but if you are at that stage a straw might be your best option.
One case we have advised on concerned a motorcyclist who came off his motorbike and crashed into a fence and subsequently lost a leg. The victim thought it was his fault as no other vehicle was involved and his memory of the incident had been affected. We discovered that a previous accident had happened at that same spot and oil was left on the road. As it had not been cleared up despite the local authority having been informed. The victim had a claim, when he originally thought it was his fault!
Mentor Experiences input assisted him to obtain his just compensation.
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