Personal injury cases in Atlanta can arise out of a wide range of accidents and other circumstances in Georgia, including car accidents, truck accidents, slips and falls, negligent security cases, product defects, and more. When a personal injury does occur and another party may be at fault, what type of evidence can you use to win your personal injury case? The evidence that will be most helpful in proving your case will depend on the type of personal injury claim you are filing, as well as whether you are filing a claim based on a theory of negligence or a theory of strict liability.
Most personal injury cases in Georgia will be brought based on a theory of negligence, meaning that the injured person will need to prove that the defendant was negligent and that the defendant’s negligence caused the injury. In order to determine what type of evidence may be available for you to use in your case, you should seek advice from an experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney who can assist you. In the meantime, the following are examples of types of evidence that can be relevant in a range of personal injury lawsuits in Georgia.
Photographs and Videos from the Scene of the Accident or Injury
While it can often be difficult for an injured person to document the scene of an accident, such as a car crash scene or a slip and fall scene, this type of documentation often serves as extremely important evidence in a personal injury case. After an accident, it is important to capture the scene from multiple perspectives and distances through photographs and videos. These images or videos can help to show how and where the accident happened, as well as why the accident happened.
Witness Testimony or Witness Statements
At the scene of an accident, it is important to obtain contact information from anyone who might have witnessed the injury. Later on, witness statements or witness testimony can corroborate the points made by an injured plaintiff, and can be critical evidence in a personal injury case. Depending upon the circumstances of the case, witnesses may be deposed during the discovery phase of a lawsuit, or they may be asked to testify in court.
Police Reports
In motor vehicle collision claims, in particular, police reports can be crucial evidence. Police reports often identify the cause of the accident, and the police report might make it clear that a particular driver was cited for the accident, such as for reckless driving or for driving under the influence (DUI).
Medical Records
Medical records are important evidence in nearly every type of personal injury case. Your medical records can provide detailed information about the consequences of the accident and injury, including information about the severity of the injury and the likelihood of or timetable for healing in the future. In cases where plaintiffs have suffered disabilities that may be permanent, medical records can emphasize the long-term losses that the plaintiff has suffered. In addition, medical records can also help to support a claim for non-economic damages, including for damages like pain and suffering or the loss of enjoyment of life.
Financial Materials
Your medical records, which will include details about your initial medical assessment and follow-up treatment, will be essential for any personal injury case. Along with your medical records, it will also be essential to have copies of all of your medical bills that show these economic losses.
You should plan to provide any medical bills that are related to your injury, including bills from an initial emergency department visit, follow-up visits to a doctor’s office, surgery and hospital bills, prescription medication costs, physical therapy bills, and any other related medical costs. You should also include insurance documents that show when and how much your insurance may have paid for your health care costs.
In addition to medical bills and financial documentation connected to your treatment and health care, you should also plan to provide financial documents that show your lost wages resulting from your inability to work, such as W-2s or pay stubs.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses can be important for proving nearly any type of personal injury case. The specific type of expert witness will depend on the type of negligence or circumstance that gave rise to your personal injury case. The expert witness may be a medical expert who can speak to the nature and severity of your injuries, or it could be an accident reconstruction expert who can show that a motor vehicle collision occurred in the manner you have argued.
Contact an Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Today
If you were injured because of another party’s careless behavior or another person’s intentional act, it is important to find out more about filing a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia and how the state’s evidence rules will apply to your case and the evidence available to you. One of our experienced Atlanta personal injury attorneys can evaluate your case for you today and can discuss the elements that you will need to prove in order to win your lawsuit.
As we assess your case, we can work with you to determine the best kind of evidence to use to support your claim. Contact Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys online today or call us at (404) 529-3476 to learn more about filing a personal injury case and seeking financial compensation for your losses.