When an auto accident occurs, the first and foremost concern is the injury and safety of the participants. Once that concern is addressed, the focus of any experienced auto accident attorney should be on an immediate investigation. Our attorneys have often remarked that our cases are won at the beginning of the case, because of the investigation. After literally thousands of cases over 35 years of representing auto accident victims, see Our Successes, here are some of the most important points about conducting an immediate investigation.

Evidence at the scene of an auto accident can be lost in a matter of hours to days. Skid marks are an example of quickly eroding evidence. Skid marks can, with significant accuracy, predict the speed of approaching vehicles and the period of braking and reaction time to test whether the driver was paying attention or speeding.

Physical evidence can also be photo documented at an auto accident scene such as debris from the vehicles, noting where the accident points of impact were located or showing the "Splatter" of parts to give an idea of direction each vehicle was heading.

Damage to each vehicle should be documented to demonstrate the velocity and vector of impacts. A less experienced lawyer frequently overlooks this evidence.

Many people assume that a police officer will document this evidence. Unfortunately, many times it is not documented, and evidence is lost while you await the report. Therefore, depending upon the accident type, all efforts at scene investigation should be done immediately. See Police Officer Reports and Liability of an Officer for Errors in Investigation or Losing Information.

Witnesses are also a source of evidence investigation. Ideally you want to interview the witnesses while the evidence and occurrence are fresh in their minds. Many times after relaying the story to friends, colleagues, or investigators, the version becomes tainted or develops elaboration that is not true, or worse exaggerated. True recollection is far more helpful than elaboration or exaggeration after "thinking" about the accident. As an example, see Keeping a Witness from Ruining Your Case and Witness Identification and Statements in Auto Accident Collisions. Sometimes witnesses will speak to a participant after the accident and be persuaded to change their opinion out of sympathy. See Witness Bias. Therefore it is important that we investigate the favorable witness and get a statement before he or she is tainted or made bias. See Importance of Recorded Statements and Interviewing an Auto Accident Witness.

Lastly, in cases where there are more significant elements of a complex collision, a competent auto accident attorney should retain an accident reconstruction expert. Not just any expert will do. Nor is it proper for any general engineer to be used. Instead, thought has to go into the selection of the expert based upon their proximity to Orange County, California, their ability to investigate promptly, and their professionalism. Many experts have little experience in certain kinds of accidents, such as road design, or signal failure. Some experts are highly specialized in the aspects of vehicle and auto accident occupant dynamics. We recommend that only an experienced auto accident lawyer retain an accident expert so that the correct conclusions and evidentiary decisions can be made. However, for those not inclined to follow our advice, expert selection agencies are available from TASA and Impact General.

Any accident investigation should be done in such a way that all the evidence is verified as to the location and manner of collection and preservation. Our firm has done thousands of auto accident cases and would be happy to do yours as well. Contact Us Online or call 1-888-752-7474.