NJ drivers and passengers are often injured in motor vehicle accidents such as car accidents, bus accidents or truck accidents. Though injured drivers and passengers may financially recover for their damages and injuries by filing auto accident lawsuits against other drivers, they must prove or present evidence to show that other drivers were at fault.
The issue of who is at fault in an intersection accident in NJ is often a contested issue. Below are ways injured parties can prove who caused the car or truck accidents.
Related: Comparative Negligence- What Does it Have to do with NJ Car Accidents?
Police Report
After a NJ car accident, parties involved should call the police. When the police officer arrives on the scene, he will talk to the drivers involved, witnesses, if any, and write a police report. The parties can then obtain the report after it is completed. Police reports often contain invaluable information such as statements of those involved in the accident. For example, in an intersection accident where a driver fails to stop at a stop sign and causes a car accident, he may admit to the police officer that he ran the stop sign and hit the other driver. The negligent driver’s statement about how the accident happened will then be in the police report.
If the parties decide not to call the police, even if the at-fault driver admitted that he was at fault, he may change his mind later and deny fault. If there was a police report, the negligent driver would have admitted fault to a police officer who can later testify to his admission. Further, the at-fault driver’s statement would be in the police report. Therefore, his credibility is called into question if he denies fault later.
Witness Testimony
Witnesses can be key to establishing fault in a NJ car accident. Sometimes, the injured driver is knocked unconscious and does not remember how the accident happened. If there are witnesses who saw the accident happen, they can testify as to who caused the car accident.
For example, a car is traveling northbound going through an intersection in Cherry Hill, NJ, and he is suddenly hit from the side. Because of the violent impact, the driver hits his head on the side window and steering wheel and loses consciousness. As it turns out, a car traveling westbound at the intersection ran a red light. The at-fault driver tells the police officer that he does not remember the color of the light. However, a driver behind the driver who ran the red light tells the police officer that the driver in fact ran a red light. In this case, witness testimony is crucial in establishing the at-fault driver’s negligence.
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