Preserving the Evidence: Why It Should Be Done

evidence bagWhen you find yourself involved in an accident caused by another person or entity’s carelessness, it is important that any physical evidence be preserved. By doing this, your legal claim will definitely be supported should you decide to pursue the claim. It is important to obtain evidence as soon as possible because circumstances can quickly change. Memories can become unreliable, evidence can be misplaced or overlooked, and accident scenes can be altered.

Here are the important things to do to ensure your personal injury claim is as strong as possible:

What Evidence to Keep

Make sure that every physical item is preserved – torn clothing, important documents and broken equipment.

For car accidents: Take photos of the scene, property damage and your injuries. Medical records also help in supporting your injuries, as well as property damage estimates and repair records.

For medical malpractice: Medical records, again, play an important role. Acquire copies of all possible medical records that concern your medical treatment in question. You may also use any records from second or third opinions from other health care providers. If there is visible physical injury, don’t forget to take photos.

For defective consumer products: If this is caused by a defective household appliance, preserve the item as it was when the incident occurred. Keep all labels, warnings, written instructions and packaging that came with the item. If you have the original sales receipt for the item, include that in your records.

Remember that the preservation of physical evidence is not always made possible. For example, if you are involved in a slip and fall incident, it was probably caused by uneven pavement, absence of a handrail, of insufficient lighting in a stairway. These situations require you to take clear and detailed photos of the scene of the accident right after it happened. Make sure to take photos from multiple angles, but ideally, always under the same conditions.

Taking photographs of your injuries and property damage, and preserving them is just one step of the process. It is best to hire an experienced personal injury attorney to help you analyze if the evidence you’ve gathered is strong enough to make a claim.

 

Contact Conte & Associates at 1-877-614-0008 for your legal needs.  Based in Vaughan, Conte & Associates works with clients in Vaughan and in the surrounding cities of: Thornhill, Woodbridge, Concord, Kleinberg, Maple and Richmond Hill. We will make sure to assist you with all your legal needs.

 

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