Evidence After a Car Accident: Police Reports and Dashcam Video
Evidence from a car crash starts to disappear within hours. Vehicles get towed and repaired, video gets recorded over and witnesses become hard to reach. A car accident lawyer usually looks first at the police report and any photos or video, then the data stored in the vehicles. This article explains how each source fits into a claim.
The crash report
When officers respond to a crash, they usually prepare a crash report, sometimes called a police report. It typically lists the drivers and vehicles involved, with insurance details for each, along with a diagram, a short narrative and any citations issued. Many states also require drivers to report crashes that involve injury, death or property damage above a set amount. Copies usually come from the responding agency, whether that is a city police department, a sheriff's office or the state highway patrol, often for a small fee.
Insurers rely heavily on the crash report, but it does not decide fault. States differ on whether an officer's opinions can be used at trial. If the report contains a factual error, such as a wrong plate number, the agency may accept a request for a correction or a supplement. An auto accident attorney will check the report against the photos and statements.
Video and photo evidence
Dashcam footage can capture the seconds before a crash better than a witness can. Save the original file with its date and time stamp, instead of a phone recording of the screen, and make a backup copy. Nearby businesses, buses and traffic cameras may have recorded the crash too, though many systems record over footage within days or weeks. Scene photos can show where the vehicles stopped and the debris and skid marks around them, and photos of injuries taken over several weeks can show how they changed.
The car's own black box
Many cars and light trucks carry an event data recorder (EDR). NHTSA describes an EDR as a device that records technical vehicle and occupant information for a brief period, measured in seconds, not minutes, around the time of a crash. Depending on the vehicle, it may record speed and braking, along with seat belt use. NHTSA's rule in 49 CFR Part 563 sets requirements for EDRs https://sergionivx271.valiantfield.com/posts/uninsured-motorist-pip-and-medpay-coverage-after-a-car-crash in light vehicles that have them. Under the Driver Privacy Act of 2015, EDR data generally belongs to the vehicle owner or lessee, and access by others is limited to situations such as owner consent or a court order.
EDR data can be lost if the car is repaired or crushed. Total loss vehicles are often moved to salvage auctions within weeks, so a car accident attorney may send a preservation letter asking the insurer or tow yard to hold the vehicle until the data is downloaded.
Witnesses and medical records
Witnesses with no stake in the claim often carry weight. Their names and phone numbers should be collected at the scene if it is safe to do so. Medical records connect the injuries to the crash, and insurers often point to gaps in treatment to dispute a claim. Keeping the claim number in one place, with a log of each call to the adjuster, makes later questions easier to answer. A short journal of pain levels and missed work, written while the details are fresh, can also help. This article is general information, not legal advice, and no result can be predicted from it.