How to Take Photos at the Scene of an Accident

Knowing how to take photos at the scene of an accident could help you support your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit later. Photos and videos are often used as evidence to document what happened and whose careless actions caused the crash. They also help illustrate damages. 

If you suffered injuries in a car collision, an attorney from Shulman & Hill can help you seek compensation in an insurance claim or lawsuit. We know how New York and New Jersey car insurance laws work. Call 212.221.1000 for a free initial consultation with our team.

Understand the Purpose These Photos Serve

If your injuries allow, use your smartphone to take photos of the accident scene after a crash. Doing so may help document your collision and later serve as a resource for investigators and accident reconstructionists. This is especially true if you file a fault-based claim and seek compensation through a careless or reckless driver’s insurance. 

Photos are the best way to preserve the crash scene since getting a survey team to the site within a few hours of the collision is unlikely. Evidence disappears quickly from a crash. First responders clear debris from the road, rain washes away any tire marks, and towing the vehicles from the scene could make it difficult to identify where they stopped.

Tips for Taking Helpful Photos at a Car Crash Scene

When you take pictures at the crash scene, try to get as many angles and details as you can. Take pictures of the entire scene from each direction, as wide an angle as possible. Do not forget to show any tire marks. These photos may indicate to accident reconstructionists what each driver did before and immediately after the collision.

Zoom in and show damage to each vehicle. Document all street signs, traffic signals, and businesses in the background. Zoom out to show the position of each car and where it ended up. Do not forget to get the tag number of any involved vehicle in your pictures. 

Some people opt to take a video to survey the scene. This way is OK as long as it includes all the necessary details. 

What Should I Do With the Photos After a Crash?

Save the photos to your phone, a cloud service, a thumb drive, or another safe place. Once you begin to file a claim or consider your options, you may need to upload them to your insurance company’s website or give a copy to your attorney. 

Not all no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) insurance providers will want to see them since they do not need to see that the other driver acted carelessly or recklessly to pay. Some may ask for a copy, though. 

If you work with a car accident lawyer and pursue a fault-based claim or lawsuit, these pictures could serve as evidence in the case. Your attorney will almost certainly want to know you have them and will ask you to submit them through their website, on a thumb drive, or via email.

Hire Our Attorney to Gather Additional Evidence and Navigate the Process

The only way to recover compensation for future medical care, future income losses, and pain and suffering damages after a car accident is by pursuing fault-based compensation. This task requires showing the other driver acted carelessly or recklessly and caused the collision. The law may also require you to show you suffered “serious” injuries. 

At Shulman & Hill, our attorneys have more than $250 million won for those hurt by someone else’s carelessness. We are New York’s premier personal injury law firm. If you were hurt in a crash, we are here to help. Our attorneys may be able to build a case, pursue compensation for you, and recover the money you need to cover your current and future related losses. 

Our team gets to know every client, making every case personal to us. We handle even the most difficult and complex cases, fighting for justice for our clients. 

Speak to One of Our Team Members About Your Legal Options for Free Today

When you suffer injuries in a collision, you have options. Recovering compensation through a no-fault claim, fault-based claim, or car accident lawsuit may be possible. At Shulman & Hill, we provide free initial consultations so crash victims can evaluate their options and decide how to move forward with their cases.

Call our firm today at 212.221.1000 to learn more. We work on a contingency-fee basis, so we only receive a payment if we win or settle your case.