Whether you’ve suffered injuries in a car crash, fall, or workplace accident, a thorough investigation will likely need to take place. An accident investigation is a crucial step in your quest for compensation, which is why it’s important to work with your attorney as they gather more information about your accident and injuries. Learn more about why these investigations are so crucial and how they can help you.

Choosing the right attorney can help you make the most of your personal injury claim. Call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661 to start your claim.

Determining the Cause of an Accident

A comprehensive investigation can help attorneys and insurance companies get to the root cause of an accident. This is obviously important, as relying on eyewitness testimony isn’t a reliable way to assign fault and figure out liability.

Consider, for example, a workplace accident. An employee might claim that a piece of equipment malfunctioned when they were using it as intended, causing deep cuts to the tendons in their hand.

An investigation might look at the piece of equipment and video footage of the work environment. When investigators discover that the equipment was tampered with by a contractor brought in to perform a specific task, that gives the employee a chance to bring a third-party claim against the contractor.

Assigning Fault

The flipside of figuring out the cause of an accident is assigning fault, and that’s really at the heart of a personal injury claim. Once investigators figure out what went wrong, they can determine who caused things to go awry.

For example, consider a car accident. A driver runs a red light and crashes into someone crossing the intersection from the right. They claim that they did brake but that their brakes didn’t work, a fairly common excuse used by negligent drivers.

Since this is such a common excuse, insurance adjusters may ignore their testimony and put blame on the driver who ran the light. But if an investigation shows that the brakes truly did stop working without warning, that would shift liability to the manufacturer or repair shop, protecting an innocent person from a lawsuit.

Identifying Systemic Problems

Many of the benefits of an accident investigation personally benefit the victim. However, there are also widespread benefits for society as a whole. If you follow the example of a car with faulty brakes, consider that there are thousands of that same vehicle on the road. How many of them have faulty brakes and the owners don’t know it yet? Accident investigations that uncover this type of information get the ball rolling on recalls and other actions that force corporate accountability.

Investigations also identify trends in human behavior that can help prevent future accidents. Imagine that research came out showing that car crashes caused by distracted driving increased more in one year than they did in the ten years prior. Such an alarming jump could highlight to public safety officials that they should focus on this behavior and spend more time on education efforts to discourage distracted driving.

Securing Fair Compensation for Victims

At the end of the day, an accident investigation helps the victims get the full and fair compensation they deserve. Once a victim’s insurance company or attorney can pinpoint the cause of an accident and the liable party, they can negotiate a proper settlement. This is a huge relief for victims, who may have been watching medical bills and other unpaid expenses pile up as they wait to return to work.

While the time spent waiting for an accident investigation may seem unnecessary, remember that it ultimately benefits you. The more evidence your attorney can gather for you, the better chance they have of recovering the compensation you deserve.

Choose Mann & Potter for Your Injury Claim

Not sure what your next step is after a car crash, slip and fall, animal attack, or other accident? The team at Mann & Potter is ready to talk to you about your legal options and help you get started on your personal injury claim. Take the first step right now by contacting us to set up a free consultation. Give us a call at 205-879-9661 or reach out to us online now.