Jacob’s Guide: How to Take Car Accident Pictures

After any car accident, pictures can tell the full story. In this day and age, anyone with a cellphone is equipped to take high-quality photographs. These can show the fine details of a crash, help insurance adjusters investigate a claim, and may serve as evidence in a personal injury lawsuit. Car accident photos are important because they:

  • Preserve critical details that can be analyzed later.
  • Can help answer questions regarding fault and blame.
  • Allow investigators to piece together facts more easily.

What to Photograph

Pictures can capture the fully story of what happened. It’s therefore important to leave nothing out and photograph evidence from multiple angles and distances. What you photograph is just as important as how you do it. The details you need to capture include:

  • Damage to cars and property
  • The location of the accident
  • Debris, skid marks, and condition of the road
  • Any injuries you sustained
  • Debris that is on the road
  • Weather conditions
  • Witnesses and emergency responders

Photographs can show things like damage to the road surface, a malfunctioning traffic light, concealed stop sign, or other factors that may have contributed to the crash. Another benefit of digital photos is time, date, and location stamps. These help verify an accident occurred at a specific time and place.

Use Labels

While photos help you accurately document an accident scene, labeling them helps even more. Labeling pictures adds more detail to your account. Your attorney and insurance adjusters can have a clearer idea of how and when the accident occurred. The information included can also help you recall details later, during a deposition or testimony, that might otherwise fade.

Tips for Taking Car Accident Pictures

The aftermath of a car crash is often chaotic and confusing. It isn’t a time to start thinking about how to take pictures. You need to act swiftly. To build the strength of your claim:

  • Take A Lot of Pictures: Don’t hesitate to photograph everything. It’s better to have too many photos than not enough. Investigators will comb through whatever evidence you have and put all the details together. Even if one picture seems similar to another, it may reveal subtle but different details.
  • Zoom In: You don’t want to move or disturb any details that pertain to the accident. Use the zoom function to get close ups of accident details. This can prevent the manipulation of evidence and avoid getting into another accident. Get close-ups of license plates, individual areas of damage, street signs, and debris.
  • Show What Needs to Be Shown: Be as detailed as possible. In addition to close up shots, show a wider view that depicts the accident scene and the surrounding area. Road conditions, weather, lighting, and the location of vehicle damage and where the affected cars are positioned can tell investigators a lot about how the accident happened and who may be most at fault.

A serious mistake that accident victims often make is not taking the photos they should. Don’t wait to take pictures. You may want to leave as soon as possible, but now is the time to collect evidence. If you try to return later to take pictures, the conditions will likely have changed. Skid marks and broken glass may be cleaned up, while lighting and road conditions may be markedly different than when the crash occurred.

Contact Your Car Accident Attorney in Los Angeles

At The Law Offices of Jacob Emrani, we understand how important car accident pictures are in building your case. We help piece together the evidence and fight for your rights against the insurance companies. Over the years, our team has won millions of dollars in damages for clients, and will fight to get the compensation you deserve. To set up your free case evaluation, call us at 888-952-2952.

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