If you’ve been in an accident, you have the right to bring a claim to recover your damages and losses. However, you will need evidence to prove a number of important elements to have a successful claim. Your Katy, TX accident attorney can tell you more about what will be needed specifically in your case.

From a Katy, TX Accident Attorney: The Evidence You Need for a Strong Claim

What You Have to Prove

If you understand what exactly you have to prove, you’ll get an idea of what evidence you have to collect. There are four specific elements to have a successful claim. First, you have to prove that the person or entity who caused your accident had a duty of care towards you. For example, say you were injured in a car accident because a traffic light malfunctioned. The question at this point is who has a responsibility to keep that traffic light in good repair, and the answer in this situation would generally be the city or county government.

The next thing you must prove is that the responsible entity breached their duty of care to you. What you’re trying to show is that a reasonable person would have acted differently under those same circumstances. For example, in the traffic light situation above, the question is how long the traffic light had been malfunctioning and whether the city or county should have been aware that there was an issue. If the malfunction had only just happened, the city cannot reasonably have been expected to get it repaired or even to get someone out to direct traffic. However, if that traffic light had been malfunctioning frequently, and the city was aware of it but did not fix it or watch it, you may be able to show that they breached their duty of care to you.

The third thing you need to prove is that the breach of duty of care specifically caused your injuries. Say, for example, that a doctor misdiagnoses you in a way that was careless, and, because of the misdiagnosis, they prescribed you a treatment you did not need. But, the wrong treatment prescribed to you was in itself harmless and did nothing to hurt you, and the delay in the diagnosis did not cause your condition to get worse. Even though the doctor breached duty of care, you likely would not have a case. You have to be able to show that the breach of duty caused you some specific loss or injury.

Finally, you have to prove precisely what the losses and damages you’ve suffered are.

Types of Evidence

Proving Duty of Care

All kinds of evidence can prove duty of care, and in some cases this is quite simple. For example, anyone who chooses to drive a vehicle on the roads has a duty of care to all other road users. They are required to follow traffic laws, to drive carefully under the circumstances, and not to drive when they are impaired.

If you were injured in an accident on private property, such as at a store, the property owner has a duty of care to provide a safe environment. The duty of care that a property owner has varies slightly depending on the type of visitor, with the smallest duty of care being owed to unannounced, but not trespassing, visitors to a private property, and the greatest duty owed to those who are invited into a place of business to do business. No duty of care is owed to trespassers in most circumstances, though property owners may not deliberately injure trespassers. Proving duty of care can usually be done with some paperwork or is assumed, depending on the accident type.

Proving Breach of Duty

Proving there has been a breach in the duty of care requires more specific evidence. Typically, you will prove there was a breach in the duty of care in a traffic accident with evidence like:

  • Dash cam video or video from security or traffic cameras
  • The testimony of witnesses who saw the accident
  • Determinations made by the police at the scene and added into the police report
  • Photographs of the accident scene
  • The help of experts, like accident reconstruction experts, who may review photographs of skid marks and vehicle damage to explain what happened

If you were injured in an accident in a store or hospital, you similarly may find video evidence of what happened from a security camera and can take photographs of the accident scene and of your injuries, which may also be used to reconstruct what happened. Witness testimony will also be important here.

Proving the Accident Caused Your Damages

The next step is proving that the accident and the breach of duty specifically caused your damages. One of the most important things here will be medical records. If you’re ever in an accident, you should always go get medical help as soon as possible. This is not only for your own health but also to have those records for a claim.

If you delay going to see a doctor, the other side may be able to successfully argue that your injuries are not related to the accident but occurred at some point later. Other evidence that can be helpful here might include video evidence, witness testimony, your own testimony, and photographs of your injuries taken at the scene of the accident.

Proving Your Losses and Damages

Finally, proving specifically what losses and damages you have sustained will require quite a bit of evidence. You will need all the medical reports and bills for medical treatment. This should include anything from emergency medical transport to hospital stays, surgeries, doctors reports, pharmacy receipts, etc. You will also want to show evidence of any other economic damages, such as repair bills and garage estimates for getting a car repaired or receipts for personal items that were damaged in an accident, like a phone or laptop computer.

If you had to miss work because of the accident, you will also need to show how much that has cost you. You might do this by showing pay stubs, bank account statements, or tax returns. You may also be able to show receipts for things like taxi rides to and from medical appointments if your car was damaged or you were injured too badly to drive it, or for lawn care or childcare services if you were unable to take care of your normal chores because of your injury.

If your injuries are causing ongoing problems so that you may not be able to return to work at all or may require medical care into the foreseeable future, you will need the testimony of expert witnesses who can testify to all this and also help the court to understand how much it’s going to cost.

This is just some of the evidence that can be helpful in an accident claim, and your lawyer will be able to tell you more. For a free consultation on your accident claim, contact the Law Office of Shane McClelland in Katy and Sugar Land, TX today.