Motor vehicle accidents are often devastating for victims in Bayonne, who typically need to recover economic and non-economic damages from negligent drivers.
Eyewitnesses play an important role in many car accident cases, which is why our lawyers will seek to identify and interview eyewitnesses immediately afterward. In addition to using eyewitness statements, our lawyers might also enlist experts, such as medical experts, who can help show that victims pass the serious injury threshold for auto injury claims in New Jersey. Before leaving the accident scene, document it by taking photos and videos. If our lawyers locate any security cameras nearby, we can seek footage to use as evidence in your case. After talking to law enforcement and exchanging information with the negligent driver, get medically evaluated so you can begin recording your injuries.
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., at (201) 777-1111 to have our car accident lawyers review your case for free.
The Role of Witnesses in Bayonne, NJ Car Accident Claims
Witness statements, whether from eyewitnesses or experts, can strengthen victims’ claims and increase the compensation they recover from negligent drivers in Bayonne. Our attorneys can take the necessary steps to identify and locate eyewitnesses after the crash and determine which experts might be most useful to your specific case.
Eyewitnesses
To prove liability in your claim, we must establish that the other driver owed you a duty of care and breached it, directly causing your injuries and damages. Proving causation is one of the most challenging aspects of accident lawsuits, and eyewitnesses can help by testifying.
Right after the accident, look around for eyewitnesses. If anyone approaches you to offer assistance, ask them for their contact information. Our car accident lawyers can promptly contact witnesses to preserve their statements after the crash.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses often play a crucial part in car accident lawsuits, especially when confirming if a victim passes the tort threshold and determining the accident’s cause. Under N.J.S.A. § 39:6A-8(a), victims with limited right to sue insurance must prove they sustained serious injuries to sue. Such injuries include dismemberment, significant scarring or disfigurement, displaced fractures, loss of a fetus, or certain other permanent injuries. Along with your medical records, testimony from medical experts can show your injuries warrant litigation and recovery of damages beyond what personal injury protection insurance can provide, most notably non-economic damages.
Medical experts can also provide insight into your anticipated physical recovery and future treatment, which is often necessary to get compensation for medical expenses that have yet to be incurred.
Other experts, such as accident reconstruction experts, can help victims with claims involving comparative negligence defenses. Under § 2A:15-5.1, sharing fault for an accident will not bar victims from recovery – provided they are not more at fault than the other driver – but their damages will be reduced. For example, if the defendant claims that you were speeding when they tried merging into your lane, and that contributed to the accident, that could lower your recovery.
To address unfounded comparative fault defenses, our lawyers can enlist accident reconstruction experts who can review physical evidence and photographs from the scene to reliably answer certain questions, such as the speed of both vehicles at the time of the accident. Much of this information will be helpful in your case.
Preserving Photographic Evidence of Car Crashes in Bayonne, NJ
Some of the most useful physical evidence in motor vehicle accident lawsuits gets cleared away to protect other drivers on the road. To preserve that evidence, do your best to photograph it at the scene.
For example, broken glass, tire marks, or other debris from the accident will not remain on the road for long. If your injuries permit, use your phone to take pictures of the entire area, including any nearby traffic signs or lights the other driver might have ignored, lane markings on the road, and the final landing positions of both vehicles.
Photographing any visible injuries is also necessary to prove you were injured during the accident and at the scene. If you are too hurt to take pictures yourself, you can ask first responders to help. For more serious accidents in Bayonne, police officers might take photos or videos to include in crash reports, which our lawyers can help victims obtain in the following days.
Most businesses – and many residential properties, for that matter – have security or surveillance systems in place. Some drivers even have dashboard cameras in their cars that occasionally film accidents. Our attorneys will identify any potential sources of video footage and contact them as soon as possible after the accident. Security camera owners might otherwise delete footage, not knowing its relevance to your case.
Getting Medically Evaluated After a Car Accident in Bayonne, NJ
Victims’ medical records outline their injuries and are foundational to their claims. Because of this, prioritize your health and safety above all else after an accident and go to the hospital.
After talking to law enforcement at the crash site, go with paramedics to the hospital. Police officers typically note whether victims accept medical care in accident reports, so victims should not reject the offer or else risk the defendant using evidence of that rejection against them. Even when victims do not have visible injuries, there might be underlying damage to internal organs or body systems that require treatment.
When you reach the emergency room, doctors might run various tests to evaluate and diagnose your injuries. Depending on the results, you might need immediate emergency treatment, like surgery. As you get care at the emergency room and then afterward from specialists, you continue to build out your medical record related to the accident.
As you are billed for treatments, our lawyers can organize those charges and help you obtain relevant medical records from the necessary hospitals and medical professionals. This information will help us determine the economic damages we request in your claim, including future damages.
Call Our Bayonne, NJ Lawyers to Discuss Your Car Accident
Call the car accident lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., at (201) 777-1111 for a free case assessment.