If you have been hurt in a bus accident, it is important for you to document as much as possible. Taking pictures can seem like a simple act, but a picture is worth a thousand words. The more pictures you take, the better off you will be from an evidentiary standpoint, and the more tools your attorney is going to have to make your case!
We’d like to thank our friends from Blaszkow Legal, PLLC for the following post about evidence in bus accident cases.
Burden Of Proof
It is important to remember that you, the claimant, have the burden of proof to prove your case whenever you are trying to assert a third-party liability claim. Civil cases are generally governed by a legal standard known as a preponderance of the evidence. This means that you are meeting the 51% burden that you have. You must prove that the case that you are making is more likely true than not true. In other words, the scales of justice must tip in your favor, but only slightly. It’s not like criminal court when the scale must completely tip to one side.
Developing Evidence
The way that you meet this burden of proof is by developing evidence. Pictures are incredibly important. But pictures of what? In short: everything!
- Bus interior
- Bus exterior
- Damage
- Railings
- Your seat
- The other vehicle
- Debris
- Other passengers (so you know who your witnesses are!)
- Bus numbers/marquis
One of the things that you get from documenting these things yourself is knowing that they are actually yours to use. In bus accident cases, regardless of what FOIA laws command them to produce (for public buses), they will often deny your request to give anything that they have to you, arguing it is an active investigation. A private entity is under no obligation to give you anything at all! By documenting these things yourself, you can make certain that your lawyer has more evidence to make your case.
Identifying The Bus
Another important consideration that a lot of people don’t realize is that buses are not tracked by their route number. For example, if you get on the 67 bus headed downtown, which was the 67 bus? It could be one bus one hour and a different bus the next. Buses often have individual registry numbers, sometimes two, three, or four numbers, that allow your attorney to identify the actual unit involved and demand that camera footage be preserved appropriately. It is not unheard of for transit entities to argue that simply by citing the route number and even the time of the crash they simply have too many buses to find your camera footage. This is not a well-taken argument, but it does not stop them from making it!
When You Are In Pain
Obviously, if you are in serious pain and you are simply transported to the hospital by the ambulance, that’s not your fault. There’s nothing that you can do. This guidance is generally written for people who are able to begin documenting the crash before seeking emergency medical treatment.
Contact An Experienced Lawyer
Whatever you do, contact an experienced bus, personal injury, or bicycle accident lawyer near you so that your case can be documented, evidence identified and preserved, and they can begin working to get you the compensation that you need for your injuries!
