California car accident attorneys perform their own investigation after taking on a new auto accident case. This investigation will include reviewing accident reports, medical records, and interviewing eyewitnesses. More specifically, your car accident attorney will perform the following investigatory steps:
- Obtain a copy of the accident report and review the police report
- Review the insurance company report
- Review medical records
- Interview eyewitnesses
- Assess the location of the accident.
- Review recordings of the accident
Witness Interviews
Witness interviews can be critical to the success of your auto accident case. A good lawyer will seek to interview all the pertinent witnesses as soon as possible. Not everyone has a good memory, and witnesses may forget important details if their statements are not recorded and reduced to writing soon. Also, some eyewitnesses who influenced the police accident report and insurance company findings may be unreliable.
A lawyer may interview the client, the witnesses to the collision, the investigating officer, the first responders, and, in some cases, the drivers.
Documents and Records
Any car accident lawsuit will depend mainly on the plaintiff’s ability to succeed on these issues: fault for the car accident and the nature and extent of losses or damages. The best way to strengthen the plaintiff’s position on these issues is to have supporting documentation and records for every element of the case.
After a car accident lawyer has interviewed witnesses, they must assemble the documents or records. Different individuals have the records, and it is the lawyer’s task to obtain copies of those records. Records, such as a commercial truck driver’s logbook and maintenance records will be in possession of the opposing party. Other important records include witness statements, reports of the investigating officer, and fire and rescue personnel reports.
Expert Witnesses
Assembling the record is just a preliminary step in the investigation. Often these records can be voluminous. Moreover, some of them may be difficult to interpret without proper training. Even lawyers specializing in car accident cases may find it hard to go through the records without help. Hence, lawyers or parties often hire experts to assist in the case.
An expert witness is hired by a lawyer to review the facts of a particular aspect of a legal case and give opinions based on their education and experience. For an expert witness to be qualified, they must have knowledge, skills, education, experience, or training in a specialized field.
Examples of experts hired include reconstruction experts, ECM experts, and traffic safety experts.
