Some accidents can be slight, while others can be critical, leading to fatal injuries and even death. When an accident occurs, it’s essential to know who was at fault. A driver who caused the accident should pay for the damages and injuries resulting from the incident. His or her insurance company should cater to all that. However, the insurance company should ascertain that their client caused the incident.
Here, we shall continue to share tips on telling if you are responsible for the accident or the other party.
- What does the Police Report Say?
In an accident, the drivers involved must report the incident to the nearest police stations. It’s the law regardless of how small the accident may appear. If one of the parties involved sustains severe injuries that they can’t file the report, then the police report can wait until they are in good shape.
Whenever you call the traffic police to the scene, they conduct a preliminary investigation of the causes of an accident. They check for clues on the road while examining the vehicle for the extent of the damage.
The police also file reports about the road conditions, the angle of impact while determining if any of the drivers involved broke any traffic rules. While conducting the investigation, the police may talk to the other passengers as well as eyewitnesses. The final report gives a conclusion about who-hit-who. The insurance companies need this report before beginning with the compensation.
- Forensic Analysis
Accidents involving large commercial trucks can be complicated to hack. This is because the trucks have enormous blind spots. As stated at https://www.brookslawgroup.com/truck-blind-spots/, although the truck drivers are highly trained to watch the vehicles in their blind spots, the highways can get busy, and one may not be cautious as they should be. Besides, most small motorists don’t understand the no-go zones when driving near large trucks.
Dealing with such incidents can prove challenging, but it’s easier to evaluate who-hit-who with the help of a forensic analyst. A forensic analyst is a specialist who conducts a complete evaluation of the collected evidence. They go through the photographs, witness statements, medical reports, and police reports to give their findings on who-hit-who.
Hiring a forensic analyst doesn’t come cheaply. For this reason, you should consider their services when the police reports say you caused the accident while you are sure it was the other driver.
- Did Anyone Else See the Accident Happen?
Eyewitnesses are crucial when it comes to determining who-hit-who in the event of an accident. These are individuals who happen to be at the scene when the incident occurred. The witnesses may be other motorists on the road or a pedestrian.
The witnesses should give an accurate report to the police, who then file the final investigation report. In some instances, the witnesses may be intimidated to give false reports. If you feel like the witnesses in the picture aren’t giving the correct info, you have the right to question them using your lawyer.
- Pictures from the Scene
What should you do immediately if you find yourself in an accident? The first step should be to check to ensure that you and the other passengers are ok. Also, check with the other drivers to ensure that everyone on board is safe and sound. If any of the occupants have serious injuries, he or she should be rushed to the hospital.
After you are sure that everyone is ok, secure the scene to prevent oncoming vehicles from running over the scene. With the scene secured, you can go ahead to take images of the scene. Ensure that you capture the scene from all angles. Capture the angle of impact, the locations where the accident happened, and where everything stopped after. The images are necessary for your insurance company to determine if you were at fault. Police also capture the accident scene for their report. But, it would be best if you didn’t rely on their report. That’s why you are advised to have your photos before the highway traffic police clear the scene.
- Car and Surveillance Cameras
In this digital era, cameras are all over, in cars and public areas. While you can’t control whether the accident is covered by surveillance, you should check to see if the camera captures the collision. There is no better evidence of who caused the accident than the video of the accident itself.
Dealing with accident cases can be stressful. Determining who caused the accident can, at times, be challenging. Mentioned in this article are pointers to determine who might have caused the accident. By going through the piece, you will find it easy to hack your case in the event of an accident.