HURT IN AN ACCIDENT? USE YOUR CELL PHONE TO TAKE PHOTOS AT THE SCENE!

HURT IN AN ACCIDENT?  USE YOUR CELL PHONE TO TAKE PHOTOS AT THE SCENE!

 A personal injury auto accident or slip-and-fall incident can be confusing and traumatic.  But if you are not at fault for the accident, your claim or lawsuit for money damages and compensation for your injuries needs to be supported by evidence.  And in many cases, the strongest and most effective evidence of all are photographs and video.

Unlike police reports and witness statements, photos and videos from the accident scene – immediately after the accident happened, are not subject to bias or prejudice.  Photos and videos are evidence that speak for themselves, and can be extremely valuable evidence for a judge or jury who must decide questions of negligence and fault.

A recent New York appellate court decision (Guzman v. State of New York, Nov. 2, 2023) proves the point.  The claimant alleged she was hurt in a fall on cracked and uneven pavement in a rest stop along I-87 in Saratoga County.  The fall happened, said the claimant, on a dry and clear day.  But photos and video of the accident scene were not obtained until the day after the accident, by which time the hole in the pavement had become filled with rainwater.  In a decision confirming dismissal of the woman’s lawsuit, the appellate court wrote that the claimant’s photo and video evidence, depicting a hole containing rainwater, “prevented the (trial) court from conducting a proper visual examination” of the alleged parking lot defect. 

Most of us never leave home without our cell phones – meaning we’re traveling with a perfect camera that can be used to immediately obtain photo and video evidence of an accident scene!  If you’ve been involved in a car accident, you should get photos of the accident location (including tire and skid marks, if any), all cars in the accident, and roadside or highway signs and traffic lights.  If you were hurt in a trip/slip-and-fall accident, it is vital to obtain photo or video evidence (on the day of the accident!) of the defective or dangerous condition that caused the fall (such as an accumulation of ice/snow or an uneven section of sidewalk).        

Lemire & Higgins, LLC represents auto accident and slip-and-fall victims!  If you, a family member or friend has been injured in an accident, contact our office at (518) 899-5700 and get started on winning compensation for your personal injuries and damages.