Pieces Of Evidence That Can Help You With Your Drunk Driving Accident Claim

Unfortunately, even though the dangers of drunk driving are very well known, many drivers continue to drive while intoxicated, causing tens of thousands of deaths every year. According to the NHTSA, in 2020 alone, over 11,500 people died in drunk driving-related accidents. As it pertains to injuries, drunk driving-related accidents can cause hundreds of thousands of injuries in a year. Fortunately, innocent people who suffer severe injuries in drunk driving-related accidents can bring a legal claim and recover compensation. So, if you were hit and injured by a drunk driver, you can file a drunk driving accident claim and recover compensation. However, you’ll need to convince the insurance adjuster of liability and damages before you can recover compensation.

The following are pieces of evidence that can help you file a successful drunk driving accident claim and recover the compensation you deserve.

The Police Report

After a drunk driving accident in South Carolina, the police are usually called to the accident scene. Once the police get to an accident scene, they prepare a traffic accident report. This report contains a lot of helpful information, including the results of any breath tests conducted after the accident. Suppose the police report that was written after your drunk driving-related accident contains results of a breath test conducted after the accident. In that case, you can use the breath test results to prove to the insurance company that their client had a higher BAC than legally allowed.

Criminal Record

If, for instance, the at-fault driver has ever been convicted of drunk driving, you may be able to use their criminal record to show the insurance adjuster that it is not impossible that their client was drunk driving at the time of your accident.

Conviction

If, after your accident, the driver was charged in a criminal court and convicted of drunk driving, you could use that conviction to prove to the insurance adjuster that their client was drunk driving at the time of your accident.

Pictures of the Accident Scene

After convincing the insurance adjuster that their client was drunk driving, you need evidence to help you convince them that their client is responsible for your accident. Photographs taken after a drunk driving accident can help you do this. Experts usually use images taken at an accident scene to tell the story of how the accident happened.

Statements by the Driver

It would help if you wrote down or recorded any statements the at-fault driver makes. If, for example, the at-fault driver says something like, “I probably drank a lot,” you can use such a statement against them to prove they were drunk driving.

Eyewitness Testimony

Often, when an accident happens, there are people nearby who witness it. So there are possibly several eyewitnesses who can help support your claim. For example, there may be drivers who saw what happened. It is also possible that pedestrians and cyclists witnessed your accident. If any witness remembers, for example, seeing the at-fault motorist driving erratically before the accident, their testimony could prove quite beneficial.

Medical Records

Medical records serve as the foundation of any damages claim. These records can help prove medical expenses as well as non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. For example, records of your doctor’s opinion about your pain and suffering can prove quite beneficial.

Contact the Gus Anastopoulo Law Firm

If you’ve been injured in a drunk driving-related accident, contact our Charleston drunk driving accident lawyer Gus Anastopoulo for legal help. We can help you hold the at-fault driver liable and recover the compensation you deserve.

Source:

nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving#:~:text=Every%20day%2C%20about%2032%20people,one%20person%20every%2045%20minutes