If you've been in an accident, hiring an auto accident lawyer should be a priority. First, you need to prove you were not at fault. You also have to deal with insurance companies who might try to pay as little as possible, which means it's in your best interest to have someone on your side who knows how to gather the evidence needed to win your case. How does an auto accident lawyer help gather evidence to help you get access to rightful compensation?

1. Police Crash Report

If you are involved in an accident, the police will make a report on it. This report can be used as evidence if you take legal action against whoever was responsible for the accident. Auto accident lawyers can help gather these reports from local law enforcement to be analyzed and used to build your case.

2. Eye Witness Accounts

When dealing with an accident involving people and vehicles, one of the first steps should be to gather evidence from any possible witnesses. Auto accident lawyers can help get these statements out by putting pressure on witnesses, so they won't forget what they saw or be scared away from giving information.

3. Surveillance Camera Footage

An auto accident lawyer will even contact nearby businesses to see if they have any security camera footage of your crash. This type of video evidence can be useful to have an actual eyeball on what happened. 

It also shows if more vehicles were involved in your accident than originally thought. You may be surprised by how many local businesses have surveillance equipment that could help!

4. Car Dash Cam Footage

Anyone who's been in an accident will tell you: It's not about fault; it's about proving fault. If you get into an accident, you should have any dashcam video from your vehicle downloaded and saved to your computer before calling insurance companies or hiring legal counsel. You can easily find dash cams online, and they won't take up much space in your glove compartment.

5. Phone Records

In many cases, an attorney can subpoena your phone records to help determine liability. If someone was talking or texting at the time of an accident, the lawyer uses these records to show they weren't paying attention to traffic. Most states allow auto accident lawyers access to personal phone records with a court order.

A car accident can be a life-changing event, and you should access rightful compensation for any harm suffered. Call an auto accident lawyer as soon as you can after an accident to secure your rights. 

For more information, contact Hamilton Law Firm, P.C.