Photographs and Evidence: What to Capture at a Crash Scene

Published January 14, 2014 · Injury Law Basics

Most of the people who call our office after a collision have the same regret: they wish they had taken more pictures. By the time the adjuster denies fault, the cars have been repaired or scrapped, the skid marks have faded, and the witness who stopped to help has driven off without leaving a name. Nearly everyone in the Dayton area now carries a phone with a camera in it, which means the best evidence-gathering opportunity in the entire case is sitting in your pocket during the ten or fifteen minutes before the tow truck arrives.

I spent nineteen years with the Dayton Police Department, much of it documenting crash scenes, before I began representing injured people. This post is the checklist I wish every client had. Your safety and medical care come first. But if you are physically able, here is what to capture.

First, the things that come before photographs

Call 911 and ask for police and, if anyone is hurt, a squad. An officer's crash report is the single document every insurance company reads first, and a report that exists is far better than one that does not. Move to safety if the vehicles are in a live traffic lane and can be moved, but if they cannot be moved, do not stand between them or behind them on a highway.

Do not discuss fault with the other driver. "I'm sorry" and "I didn't see you" are said out of courtesy and repeated later as admissions. Exchange information and let the officer sort out the rest.

The photograph checklist

Take more pictures than you think you need. Storage is free, and no one has ever lost a case because they had too many photos. Work from wide to close.

The whole scene. Stand back and photograph the intersection or stretch of road from several directions, showing where both vehicles came to rest. Include the lane markings, the traffic signals or stop signs, and any landmarks. These wide shots let a reconstructionist or a jury understand the geometry of the crash months later.

Every vehicle, every side. Photograph all four sides of each car, not just the damaged ones. Undamaged sides matter too; they rule out arguments about prior damage or a different point of impact.

Damage close-ups. Get in close on crushed panels, broken glass, deployed airbags, and bent wheels. Then step back so the damage can be placed on the vehicle. Photograph the interior if seats, the steering wheel, or the dashboard were damaged, because interior damage helps prove the forces your body absorbed.

License plates and VINs. A clear photo of the other car's plate and, if possible, the VIN plate on the dashboard. Plates get swapped and stories change; the photo does not.

The other driver's documents. Photograph the driver's license, registration, and insurance card. Make sure the policy number and the insurer's name are legible. If the driver is not the owner, note the owner's name from the registration; the owner's policy may be the one that matters.

Skid marks, debris, and fluid. Tire marks tell an investigator who braked, where, and how hard. Debris fields show the point of impact. These disappear within hours, sometimes within minutes in rain. Photograph them with something for scale, such as your foot or a shoe, and show where they sit relative to the lane lines.

Traffic controls. The signal heads, stop signs, yield signs, and any signs that were obscured by trees, trucks, or snow. If the signal was malfunctioning or the sign was down, that photo may be the case. We discussed how signal evidence works in our post on proving who had the green light at an intersection.

Weather, lighting, and road surface. A photo of the sky, the wet or icy pavement, the sun angle, and the streetlights. Insurers love to argue "the conditions were obvious to everyone," and your pictures establish what the conditions actually were.

Your injuries. Bruising, cuts, and seat-belt marks, that day and over the following days as they develop. Photographs of a bruise that blossomed across your chest on day three are far more persuasive than a description in a medical record.

Commercial vehicles. If a truck, delivery van, or company car was involved, photograph the company name and DOT number on the door, the trailer, and any placards. We explain why those cases are different in our truck and commercial vehicle section.

Witnesses: get names before they leave

People who stop to help usually leave as soon as the police arrive. Before they do, ask for a name and a phone number, and if they will say in one sentence what they saw, write it down or record a short video of them saying it. An independent witness who says "the silver car ran the red light" is worth more than anything the two drivers say about each other. Note where each witness was standing or sitting when the crash happened.

Write it down while it is fresh

That evening, before you sleep, write a plain account of what happened: the time, where you were coming from and going, your speed, what you saw the other car do, what the other driver said, and what the officer said. Memory fades fast, and the other driver's insurer will take a recorded statement from its own insured within a day or two. Yours should be at least as fresh. For the same reason, do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement of your own; we explained why in this earlier post.

Get the crash report and follow up

Ask the officer for the report number and which department will hold the report. In Montgomery County you can usually obtain the report within a few days. Read it carefully. Officers do excellent work, but they arrive after the fact and rely on what they are told; if the report contains an error about the lane you were in or what you said, your lawyer can address it early rather than at trial.

See a doctor the same day or the next, even if you feel only sore. We explain the medical and legal reasons in our post on why you should see a doctor after a crash.

What this means for you

Evidence at a crash scene is perishable. Cars are repaired, skid marks vanish, witnesses move, and surveillance video at nearby businesses is often overwritten in days. The photographs and names you gather in the first fifteen minutes are the foundation of a claim that an insurer cannot wave away. Once you have them, the next step is to get them to someone who knows how to use them. Our Dayton car accident practice begins every serious case by securing the scene evidence, the report, and the vehicles before anything is lost.