Tips for Using Your Cell Phone to Take Car Accident Scene Photos

Aug 10, 2020

Every Car Accident Picture Tells A Story

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the car accident scene photos you take with your cell phone right after a crash can be worth thousands of dollars in your Colorado personal injury lawsuit. Your cell phone camera is a powerful tool that you can use to gather and preserve evidence about how the vehicle accident happened and the damage that the other driver caused.

An experienced and skilled auto accident lawyer can use those pictures to provide you with an advantage in negotiations with insurers and can wield them at trial to prove liability and the extent of your losses.

You don’t need to be Ansel Adams or turn the scene into “CSI: Car Accident” for your photos to make a difference in your case. But you should know what to look for and what to focus on in the hectic aftermath of a car crash.

Why Car Accident Scene Photos Matter

The scene of a car accident in the moments that immediately follow the incident tells a story. This story will be at the heart of any claim for damages or losses arising from the auto accident. And the best way to tell a story is when it’s fresh in your mind and before the accident scene disappears.

Memories fade, cars get towed, and debris is swept away (especially in the harsh winds Colorado can have). Without pictures, attempts to describe what occurred can become a matter of differing perspectives, recollections, and opinions.

Photos, however, have no bias. They do not depend on the quality of someone’s eyesight or the clarity of their memory. But they can help refresh recollections months or years later when the parties or other witnesses see those photos at a deposition or at trial.

Pictures can also contradict and call into question factual claims made by the other driver. For example, if a defendant claims that slippery road conditions contributed to the accident, a picture showing dry pavement on a sunny day will put an end to that argument.

Where To Aim Your Cell Phone Camera

There are a lot of elements in any car accident scene, and capturing as many relevant images as possible can be the difference between winning and losing a case. One of the best things about the age of smartphones is that you can take an almost infinite number of pictures. Try to get several high-quality photos of the following:

Your vehicle, including pictures that show the overall condition of the car as well as close-ups of any areas of specific damage
Any other vehicles involved in the crash, including any damage they sustained
Any skid marks
Any vehicle parts, broken glass, or other debris scattered on the road or surrounding areas
The general accident site, such as the intersection, section of highway, parking lot, or ramp where the crash occurred
Any signage, traffic signals, and lighting at the accident scene
The weather and road conditions
Any visible bodily injuries sustained by you, your passengers, and other parties (if possible, and with the consent of any other parties you take pictures of)

Use your cell phone to take car accident scene photos.

Take Car Accident Scene Photos from Multiple Angles and Use Common Landmarks

As you take pictures of the items described above, try to capture them from multiple angles to provide a 360-degree perspective that leaves nothing to the imagination. Do the same in terms of distance, taking shots from close-in, at a further range, and from a more panoramic perspective.

Also, try to keep a common landmark in each of your pictures of the vehicles and accident scene in order to demonstrate scale, distance, and location, such as Pikes Peak.

Download Your Car Accident Scene Photos and Give Them to Your Lawyer

Memories aren’t the only things you can lose after an accident. People misplace or lose their cell phones regularly, as you may know from personal experience. Download your accident scene photos to cloud storage, a thumb drive, or another device so you can ensure they don’t disappear.

Getting the pictures off your phone will also make them easier to share with your car accident lawyer. You want to provide your attorney with every snapshot you took. Don’t worry about sorting through them; that is part of their job. You’re doing a big part of your job just by having the foresight and composure to take those pictures right after your accident.

Find a Skilled Car Accident Attorney

Your Colorado Springs car accident attorney will decide how, when, and whether to use your pictures to prove that the other driver was at fault and to recover the maximum amount of damages available for your losses.

King and Beaty offers 100% free consultations and case evaluations. Give us a call today to ensure the best chance you have at winning your case and getting what you deserve.