Many times, it is “easy” to determine who is at fault in a St. Mary’s County, MD., car accident case. One driver clearly ran a red light or stop sign, or was driving too fast, or something similar.

But there are just as many auto accidents where it is not entirely clear who is at fault and who has the legal liability to pay compensation for injuries caused by the accident. In those cases, the attorneys, insurance representatives, judges, and members of the jury will have to examine the various evidence that relates to matters of fault. This is one important reason to hire experienced St. Mary’s County, Maryland, car accident lawyers after an accident. Contact us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Our number is (301) 870-1200, or use our contact page. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland.

Maryland remains a State where fault must be proven in car accident cases. This means proving each of the four legal elements of negligence: duty, breach, causation, and injury. In general, there are several broad categories of evidence that are available in a typical Maryland vehicle accident case. These are:

• Police reports — these are often excluded from being used in a courtroom, but nonetheless, they contain a wealth of evidence that can be “worked up” in other ways; the evidence includes things like the identities of all the parties, identities of potential eyewitnesses, record of at-the-scene injuries and damage to vehicles, location of vehicles (sometimes) and more
• Eyewitness testimony and statements — these are persons with direct visual and other knowledge of the accident; often, the best type of evidence
• Opinion witness testimony, reports, and statements — experts generally testify based on testing and experience, rather than direct knowledge of what happened; not always used in Maryland car accident cases; are often expensive to hire
• Scene of accident evidence — this type of evidence is usually provided through photos and video; examples include photos/video of tire marks, knocked over signs, gouges in/damage to street fencing and barriers, etc.
• Damage to the vehicle and (sometimes) where the vehicles ended up after the crash — again, often this type of evidence is introduced through photos and video; where damage occurred to a vehicle can help determine how the accident happened; paint transfers fall in this category
• Injuries to victims — sometimes, the injuries suffered by victims can help identify how the accident happened
• Car “black boxes” — modern cars have “black boxes” like airplanes; some data from these can be recovered and can help explain how the accident happened; can show things like speed, when brakes were applied, etc.
• Cameras either on board the vehicles or on the street — some of the best evidence is video from on-board or street cameras

As can be seen, there is a wealth of potential evidence that can be collected and used to prove fault in a Maryland car accident case. It is difficult for a non-lawyer to marshal the resources to gather all this evidence. Hire good Maryland car accident lawyers to make sure you win your case.

Contact Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Attorney Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.