1 March 2016
 Categories: Law, Blog

One of the most beneficial things that you can do after you have been involved in a car accident is to contact a personal injury lawyer because he or she can protect you from any attempts by the person who caused the accident to shift the blame onto you. Trying to place the blame on the victim is a very common approach by the defendant in a car accident case as it can result in your lawsuit being dismissed if it is successful. Listed below are just two of the ways that an attorney can help you avoid this issue.

Eyewitness Accounts

One of the biggest ways that an attorney can help you avoid taking the blame for an accident that you did not cause is by interviewing eyewitness about the accident and the events leading up to it. The attorney is often going to look for any statements from the witnesses indicating that the defendant was driving too fast, recklessly, or aggressively in the moments leading up to the accident. In addition, your attorney will also look for any accounts that the defendant was swerving or drifting while driving which can help your attorney make the case that the defendant caused the accident due to being impaired or distracted.

Phone Usage

Another thing that your attorney can use to strengthen your case is to determine if the defendant was using his or her phone around the time of the accident. This is useful because individuals that utilize their phones often end up in accidents. For example, in 2011 23% of auto accidents involved individuals who were on their cell phones at the time of the accident.

Your attorney can request copies of the defendant's phone records in order to check his or her cell phone usage at the time of the accident. If there is a record of a text or phone call being made in the time just before the accident, then your attorney can use that information to make the case that the defendant caused the accident and struck you because he or she was distracted by his or her phone.

Contact a personal injury law firm today in order to discuss the details of your car accident case. A personal injury attorney can help strengthen your case in a variety of ways, such as utilizing phone records and eyewitness accounts to help ensure that the person who caused the accident is unable to pin the blame on you.

To speak with a personal injury lawyer, contact a law firm such as Bidegaray Law Firm LLP.