Nowadays, not many people go out without their smartphones in hand. And almost everyone knows that a picture tells a better story than words. That is why it is vitally important to take a picture of a car accident you were involved in. As traumatic as the event is, it is extremely crucial to take pictures of the evidence and preserve these photos for a potential, successful lawsuit in court.
In one court case, the Court came to the conclusion that photos taken after an accident was allowed to be admitted into court without having to get an expert witness to justify your damages. Before this court case decision, photos were not allowed without expert testimony to determine whether the damages of the accident and the plaintiff’s injuries were correlated to each other. Another case stated that photos were only allowed in a lawsuit when a medical expert provided his professional opinion on the plaintiff’s injuries.
However, it’s not like that anymore. Neither expert testimony nor medical experts are required to testify to admit photos from a car accident. This is because the Court decided that clear evidence of the car accident is relevant to the issue; the photos are only needed to prove the one side is more true than the other; and that jurors could decide on the issue using their common sense by observing the impact of the collision with the plaintiff’s injuries. Also, it is not a requirement for expert testimony to be present during a lawsuit because it is an expensive burden on the parties, especially with expenses of the trial itself. So why not take advantage of this new court ruling, and take as many pictures as you can after your accident to prove your damages?
Although it is not a requirement in obtaining an expert witness to testify on your photos, it is highly recommended if it’s something that a normal juror would not understand. If you are the one bringing the lawsuit, bring in as many photos as you can to prove your damages and injuries. You can also bring in an expert to testify the impact of your damages and injuries. If you are the one being sued, you have the option of bringing in your own photos, as well as an expert to testify that the impact was not that severe.
Regardless of whether an expert is going to testify, it is more important to have the option of something worth testifying for or against; i.e. the photos. So rather than taking your normal selfie, flip to your back camera and take as many photos as you can after a car accident.
