What Evidence Is Used in Distracted Driver Personal Injury Claims?

Distracted driving remains one of the leading causes of vehicle accidents in Wisconsin and throughout the country. These accidents have a high occurrence of personal injury, leading to millions of dollars in damages every year. Given how common distracted driving is, personal injury attorneys always examine the evidence of a case to ascertain whether or not the accident could have been caused by a distracted driver.

Even when a distracted driver is suspected, proving it is not always so simple. In this post, we examine the key pieces of evidence that our personal injury attorneys examine when pursuing a distracted driving claim.

Evidence in Distracted Driving Cases

When you are represented by a personal injury attorney after having been injured in a car accident, the attorney will collect and examine evidence to build your case and try to prove that negligence played a role in the accident and your resulting injuries, including:

• Your Memories of the Accident. Always be fully honest and truthful with your attorney about the accident. Share everything you can remember leading up to, during, and after the accident. This is particularly important if you remember seeing the driver using a phone or being distracted in some other manner.
• The Police Report. Officers responding to the accident will have filed a police report. Attorneys review this for comparison with your memories and to look for evidence of negligence. If you think the other driver was distracted, you should always report that to the responding officer so it is included in the report. The police report also frequently contains a preliminary conclusion as to the cause of the accident and will serve as documentation of the weather and road conditions and any other mitigating factors.
• Witnesses. Some accidents are seen by people not involved in it. These witnesses can provide valuable testimony regarding the actions of both drivers. Having witnesses corroborate your testimony that the other driver was distracted is helpful to your case, but they might also share information that hurts your case. It is the attorney’s job to sort through the witness statements to look for facts as well as inconsistencies. Witnesses may be listed in the police report or you may have spoken to them after the accident or they may live or work near the site of the accident.
• Visiting the Accident Scene. Revisiting the scene of the accident, reconstructing the accident, and investigating the accident scene can all yield important evidence in a personal injury case. Measurements, photographs, evidence of property damage or skid marks can all be used to help build a picture of what happened when the accident occurred. Experts may be called in to provide testimony related to the evidence collected and the conclusions drawn.
• Electronic Data. Electronic data can be very helpful in distracted driver cases. Your attorney may be able to subpoena information from the other party to build the case. Examples of electronic data include: cell phone records, event data recorder (EDR) reports, surveillance footage. Cell phone records can be used to prove that the driver was using their cell phone at the time of the accident. EDRs are similar to “black boxes” found on airplanes. EDRs record vehicle data which can be used to bolster your case. Surveillance cameras from nearby homes and businesses may have captured the accident. This visual evidence can be invaluable in building a case.

Speak with a Distracted Driver Attorney at Eisenberg Law Offices

Every personal injury claim deserves to be examined by an experienced attorney. Even if you think the evidence is overwhelmingly in your favor and are offered a settlement, a qualified attorney may be able to build a case that nets you a larger settlement amount. Contact the distracted driver attorneys at Eisenberg Law Offices for a complete and thorough review of your accident to see if you are eligible for more compensation.

Arrange a free consultation with an attorney by calling 608-256-8356 or emailing info@eisenberglaw.org today.