When you are to blame for a car crash, the consequences could be significant. The other party could file a claim against your insurance coverage, and you might even face a civil lawsuit. On the other hand, when you are not the one who causes a crash, you have certain rights. You should not have to absorb the financial impact of a wreck but instead of the option of making a financial claim against the person who caused the crash.
While you may know with absolute certainty that the other driver caused your crash, the police officer filing the report about the wreck may not know anything yet. How do you prove the other party is to blame for the crash?
Find video footage or witnesses
If you have a dashboard camera in your vehicle, you may have video footage of the other party running a red light and crashing into the front of your car. There could also be dashboard cameras in the vehicles of anyone else nearby when the crash occurred.
Sometimes, there are traffic cameras or security cameras nearby that may have captured footage. There could also be pedestrians or other drivers nearby who can serve as key witnesses in your case.
Create your own documentation
Especially when you don’t believe there are cameras nearby, you may need to make use of your mobile phone to capture video footage and pictures of the scene of the crash after you exit your vehicle.
Taking a few minutes to record the placement of your vehicles and other information, like the behavior of the other driver following the crash, could help you better explain to a police officer or insurance adjuster what happened.
Get professional help
When there isn’t video footage and you can’t locate any witnesses, you may need to employ an alternative approach to proving that the other driver was at fault.
You could hire professionals to recreate the wreck using information about the scene of the crash, the vehicles involved, the damage they incurred and the placement of the vehicles after the wreck. That information could help you convince police departments, civil courts and insurance adjusters that the other party was the one at fault for your crash.
In a perfect world, you could count on the other driver to do the right thing and admit it when they were to blame for a collision. In the real world, it is beneficial to know your options in case you have to deal with an unethical individual. Taking the right steps after a motor vehicle collision will protect you and you’re right to compensation from the other party.