What Evidence Is Most Important in Proving an Ohio Accident Claim

After sustaining injuries in an accident caused by another party’s negligence, you may have the right to seek financial recovery in an accident case. However, what evidence do you need to prove fault for an Ohio motor vehicle accident claim? Knowing how to build a compelling case can help you recover the compensation you need to treat your injuries.  

Police Reports: The Foundation of an Ohio Accident Claim

In motor vehicle accident cases, police crash reports typically carry significant weight with insurers. Insurers value the information in police accident reports because of officers’ neutral perspective on the crash and their training in investigating accidents. Police crash reports typically contain critical information for an accident claim, including a diagram of the crash scene, summaries of witness statements, notes of traffic citations or arrests, and the officer’s opinion regarding fault for the crash. 

Photographs and Video Evidence

Photographic and video evidence can also provide critical facts to an accident claim. For example, accident scene photos can show vehicle damage, skid marks, road conditions, and traffic controls. Wide shots can also show drivers’ perspectives of the accident (including whether any driver had visual obstructions. Video evidence may come from traffic or surveillance cameras, doorbell cameras, building security cameras, or dashcams in the vehicles involved in the crash or other nearby vehicles. Photos and videos can help reconstruct what happened in an accident by providing an objective view that can corroborate or contradict the parties’ or eyewitnesses’ accounts. 

Witness Statements

Neutral, third-party witnesses to a crash can also provide persuasive evidence in an accident claim. Various factors can affect the credibility of a witness’s account, including the timing of their observations, what they saw, their vantage point, and the consistency of their account with other witness statements or objective evidence, such as photos and video. 

Medical Records and Documentation of Injuries

In an accident claim, you must prove what injuries you sustained and how they have affected your life. Medical records can document injuries immediately following an accident, while specialist reports and diagnostic imaging can corroborate documented injuries and an accident victim’s explanation of their symptoms and limitations. As a result, seeking medical treatment as soon as possible after an accident can help strengthen the causal connection between your injuries and the accident. 

Proof of Financial Losses

You will also need to provide documentation to establish the losses you’ve incurred due to your accident injuries. Examples of records that you should use to prove financial losses include:

• Medical bills
• Receipts for medication or durable medical equipment purchases
• Physician prognoses and estimates for anticipated care
• Pay stubs or income statements to calculate missed wages or lost future earning capacity

You may also have the right to recover compensation for your pain and suffering or lost quality of life, which you might prove through your testimony and testimony from friends and family about how your injuries have affected your daily life. 

Accident Reconstruction and Expert Testimony

Finally, many accident claims involve expert testimony, including from accident reconstruction, medical, vocational, and economic experts. Accident reconstruction experts can piece together the evidence and use scientific principles to provide a narrative or visual recreation of the accident. Medical and vocational experts can provide technical information about an accident victim’s injuries and how they limit their ability to work or perform daily activities. Finally, economic experts can calculate the present value of an accident victim’s future anticipated expenses or losses. 

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today

When you get hurt in an accident, having a robust legal case can improve your chances of recovering compensation for your injuries and losses. Contact Kitrick, Lewis & Staley-Sladek Co., L.P.A., today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a car accident attorney to learn more about the kinds of evidence you may need to prove your right to recover compensation in an Ohio accident claim.