How Does a Law Firm Investigate After a Vehicle Accident?

Before we file a claim, we need to investigate the crash.  This means looking for all of the evidence we can find to guide us in determining whether you have a case in the first place.  Then, we narrow in on what we need to prove your case.

When we investigate cases, we are looking for the evidence needed to win your case.  This means obtaining evidence of what happened, and enough evidence to prove all four elements of a negligence case.  This might involve looking into the driver and, if they were a commercial driver, their employer.

Call Mitchell Rogers Injury Law’s Las Vegas, NV car accident attorneys at (702) 702-2622 for a free case evaluation.

Finding Evidence Based on What We Need to Prove In Your Case

When investigating the basic events of a car accident, we look for the “5 Ws” of what happened:

  • Who was involved?
  • What happened?
  • Where did it happen?
  • When did it happen?
  • Why did it happen?

But the law requires us to prove four elements to win your case, so we will typically focus our investigations on finding the information needed to prove these four elements:

Duty

We need to show the defendant owed you a legal duty.  This means looking at things like

  • What rules of the road applied?
  • Based on the situation at hand, what would a reasonably safe driver have done?
  • Are there any vehicle inspection rules on point?
  • Do any commercial driving regulations apply to this driver?

Breach

Then, we need to prove that the defendant breached or violated that legal duty.  You cannot sue them if they didn’t do anything wrong.

Breaches often involve the specific conduct that happened, and whether there is enough evidence to prove the breach occurred.  For example, can we prove that the driver was speeding?  Are your observations enough to convince a jury, or do we need outside witnesses, too?

Causation

We need to show that the defendant’s breach of duty is what caused your accident.  This means looking for outside causes and ruling them out.  If we cannot link the accident to what the defendant did, we cannot hold them responsible for it, or we might have a different defendant to sue.

It also means potentially investigating whether you can be accused of partial fault.  If you will be accused of causing your own accident, we need proof that your share of fault was not more than the defendant’s.

Damages

We need proof of what damages you suffered for you to be able to sue for them.  This means collecting medical bills, vehicle repair bills, and other evidence.

One major area of damages we need proof of is your pain and suffering.  These and other “non-economic damages” cover the intangible harms, like mental, emotional, and physical harm.  We need testimony from you, your loved ones, and your doctors to lock this proof down.

Investigating the Defendant

We need to know everything we can about the defendant, i.e., the driver who caused the accident.  This includes looking up information about their past driving, their habits, and their vehicle:

Damage Reports

When there’s a crash, both drivers usually need to get their vehicles repaired.  We can demand that the defendant turn over their damage appraisals and repair bills detailing what damage their car suffered.

This can help us argue about how the crash happened, especially if there are notes about where the specific damage was, what it looked like, and notes of your color paint in their car’s scratches.

Vehicle Maintenance Records

Showing what the driver did with their car before the crash might highlight dangers or problems that led to the crash.  For example, if they hadn’t had their brakes inspected in a long time, it is possible they didn’t stop because their brakes were too worn down.

Driving Record

Past examples of bad driving are not necessarily proof that they were at fault in this case, but it might help us show a pattern or habit.

Other Investigations

Looking into other things, like the driver’s drinking habits or prescription glasses use, might also be important.

Investigating Trucking Companies and Other Commercial Drivers

If the driver was a commercial driver, we can potentially sue their employer.  This requires additional evidence and information.

Respondeat Superior

In an injury case, you can sue the individual defendant’s employer if all three of these elements are met:

  1. They were an employee (not an independent contractor).
  2. They caused the accident within the scope of their work.
  3. The individual employee was negligent.

If these elements are met, the employer can be made to pay in their place.

Driver’s Employment Status

You can only sue employers, meaning that if the driver was an independent contractor, this might make it harder to sue their boss.  However, this status as an “employee” is based on the facts, not what the employer calls their driver.

If we can prove the employer exerted close control over their worker, we might be able to prove the “independent contractor” status is wrong.

Driver Training and Qualifications

Employers can also be held responsible for negligent hiring and retention of dangerous drivers.  If we can show that they were not properly trained, screened, or qualified for the job, the employer might be liable for the crash.

“Black Box” and Other Records

Some commercial vehicles are equipped with various automatic recording devices that have records of speed, steering input, brake input, and other data when a crash occurs.  At the least, commercial vehicles should have an electronic log of the driver’s hours, which might show regulatory violations of the hours of service rules.

Other Evidence We Need

Evidence in these categories usually helps build the case and prove what happened and who was at fault:

  • Witness names and statements
  • Vehicle color, make, model, and license plate numbers
  • Information about the crash scene, such as lighting, weather, road conditions, what signs were posted, etc.
  • Security camera footage from nearby cameras
  • Dash cam and helmet cam footage
  • The other drivers’ and passengers’ medical records
  • Vehicle repair bills and appraisals
  • Accident reconstruction expert reports
  • Your medical records, bills, vehicle repair records, etc.

Anything else that might be helpful in your case should also be obtained as part of our investigation.  If we cannot obtain certain evidence before filing a lawsuit, we may be able to get it through the discovery stage of your lawsuit, where both sides share evidence and information so there are no surprises.

Call Our Nevada Car Accident Lawyers Today

Call (702) 702-2622 to get your case started with a free case evaluation with the Enterprise, NV car accident attorneys at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law.