Sometimes it's necessary to conduct a professional investigation of your personal injury accident. You may need an investigation if you're involved in a construction accident, a motor vehicle accident or an accident with a semi-truck. The purpose of an investigation is to uncover the facts, which can be used to determine whether you have a negligence case and to substantiate your claims. Consult a personal injury attorney if you think you may need an investigation.

What does a professional investigation entail?

A professional investigation covers many aspects of an accident case. Whether you are using a professional or conducting an investigation yourself, you'll want to pay attention to these important aspects of a professional investigation:

Photos of the accident scene and vehicles involved.

If you're involved in a construction accident, you'll want detailed photos of the accident scene, including close-ups of all important features. The same thing goes for a motor vehicle accident. You'll want photographs of all damage to the vehicles, and if you photograph an accident scene, be sure to get photos of any skid marks or other signs of the accident at the scene. If you're injured, take photographs of your injury, and for severe injuries, take photos on a weekly basis to document your recovery.

Document the vehicle damage.

In a motor vehicle accident, you'll want to document the vehicle damage. You can easily document vehicle damage by taking your car to an auto body shop and requesting an appraisal. A written appraisal serves as a basis for substantiating vehicle damage costs, and can help back up an account of how the accident occurred, based on where and how the vehicle is damaged.

Request medical records.

Not only must you undergo medical treatment in the event of an accident, but you must provide medical records to substantiate your claims of injury. If you claim a specific injury but don't have any medical records mentioning that injury, defendants may dismiss your injury claim. When you hire a personal injury attorney, you may be asked to sign a HIPPA authorization so that the attorney can obtain your medical records for you, saving you the trouble of keeping up with records and ongoing treatment.

Get the accident report.

In motor vehicle accident cases, most police departments automatically generate an accident report for your accident. Ask the police officer at the scene of the accident how to get a copy of the report, and make sure you aren't responsible for completing a report yourself.

For a construction accident or work-related injuries, most employers require that an accident report be completed at the time of the injury. Make sure you complete an accident report if you're injured, and request a copy of it for your records.

Get statements from people who witnessed the accident.

In a professional investigation, the investigator will request written statements from anyone who witnessed an accident. Statements can be especially helpful if liability is in dispute, and can also help resolve any questions about the fact of the case if the accident victim and the defendant report disputing details.

It's important that a professional investigator interview witnesses to an accident case. Professional investigators know the right questions to ask, and are adept at getting the details you need. If an investigation isn't thorough enough and the witness is asked to testify, you may discover previously unknown facts that throw the entire case into dispute. It's key to have a professional conducting witness interviews.

Look for similar personal injury accidents.

A good professional investigator not only checks out the details of your specific personal injury accident, but also looks into the background of the defendants and researches similar personal injury accidents. For example, if you're injured in a construction accident, an investigator may do some research into the construction company to see if there are other accidents in the history of the construction company. Likewise, if you're involved in a motor vehicle injury, the investigator may research the defendant to see if he or she has been in car accidents in the past. This information may also be obtained by your attorney through the course of litigation.

Your lawyer also conducts his own investigation.

In addition to the investigation conducted by a professional investigator, a good personal injury attorney does his own investigation.

A good lawyer looks for related case law.

Practically anything under the sun that can happen to someone already has. A good lawyer uses existing case law to evaluate a case and help determine how to prosecute and value it. It's extremely difficult to overcome a precedent, or instance of prior case law ruling on an issue similar to your accident case, so a good lawyer finds a way to make the case law work for you. If a lawyer fails to sufficiently investigate case law, he may find it used against him. Therefore, a good lawyer, familiar with litigation, can build the best case for your personal injury accident.

A lawyer looks for related instances in the defendant's history.

In the event of a construction accident or a motor vehicle accident, a personal injury attorney conducts some research to determine whether the defendant has had a similar issue in the past. In the event of a construction accident, similar past histories can give a lawyer a basis for saying the defendant was negligent and had prior knowledge of an existing condition, or simply that better safety standards should be in place. For a motor vehicle accident, if a defendant has a history of driving negligently, an insurance company is more likely to settle to avoid going to court and paying out a bigger settlement in the case of a perpetually negligent defendant.

Legal investigations are just as important as hiring a professional investigator.

A professional investigation is an important aspect of some personal injury cases, but so is legal investigation. Ideally, you'll hire an attorney capable of handling both aspects of your personal injury case. When all the pieces come together, you get the justice you deserve for your accident.