How Do You Prove the Other Driver Was at Fault?

Driving through Durham, North Carolina, can be quite an experience. It means sharing the road with delivery vehicles and all sorts of people traveling through the Triangle. Interstate highways carry heavy traffic, while state highways and Fayetteville Street serve different parts of the city. Crashes can happen for all sorts of reasons, given the volume of vehicles that are passing through the area each day. In 2024, Durham County experienced 10,004 reportable crashes.

After a collision, figuring out who caused it may seem straightforward. Sometimes it is. A driver may run a red light, rear-end another vehicle, or cross into oncoming traffic. Other crashes are harder to sort out. Drivers may give different accounts, or witnesses may remember events differently. Sometimes important evidence is not immediately apparent. In such situations, a Lanier Law Group Durham lawyer may examine the available evidence in order to determine how the crash happened. They also find out whether another driver’s actions caused the injuries.

Start With the Crash Scene

The location of a collision can tell investigators a lot. Vehicle positions, skid marks, damaged signs, debris, traffic signals, lane markings, and damage to nearby property may help explain what happened.

Photographs are useful when they can be taken safely. Capture the vehicles from different angles, along with the roadway and surrounding area. A photo that seems unimportant at the scene may later help explain the sequence of events. Road conditions can matter, too. Additional context could be provided by poor visibility, damaged pavement, missing signs, or strange traffic patterns.

Look for Independent Witnesses

People who saw the collision may remember details that the drivers missed. A witness might have seen which vehicle entered an intersection first, whether someone was speeding, or whether a driver appeared distracted.

Get contact information from witnesses if possible. Their statements may become more difficult to obtain as time passes, particularly if someone cannot remember the exact sequence of events later.

A witness does not have to know either driver personally to provide useful information. In fact, an independent account may help clarify a dispute between the people involved in the crash.

Check Available Video

Cameras are increasingly common around busy roads and buildings. Depending on the location, footage may come from traffic cameras, nearby businesses, residential security systems, dashcams, or onboard vehicle systems.

Video can sometimes answer questions that photographs cannot. It may show the traffic signal, vehicle speed, lane position, or movements immediately before impact. There is one catch: footage may not be kept indefinitely. If a camera captured the crash, finding out who controls the recording and whether it is still available can become important.

Review the Police Report

The responding officer may document the location, vehicles, road conditions, statements, citations, and other observations. The report can provide a useful starting point when reconstructing the collision.

It should not, however, be treated as the only source of evidence. An officer may arrive after the vehicles have moved or after witnesses have left. Additional information can change the picture. This is especially relevant when the drivers disagree about what happened.

Consider Vehicle and Digital Evidence

Modern vehicles can contain information that helps explain a crash. Depending on the vehicle, investigators may be able to obtain event data or other electronic information.

Commercial vehicles can create additional sources of evidence, including onboard video, driver records, company records, or other data. The important point is that the physical damage alone may not tell the entire story.

What If Both Drivers Blame Each Other?

This is where a collision can become particularly difficult. One driver may say the other had the right of way. The other may insist that the first driver caused the crash. North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule also makes fault especially significant in personal injury cases. 

Depending on the circumstances, a finding that an injured person contributed to the accident can affect the ability to recover damages. For that reason, evidence showing what each driver did before the collision can matter greatly.

Building a Clearer Picture

Proving fault usually requires more than pointing to the damage on a vehicle. The strongest picture may come from several pieces of information that support the same explanation.

Photos, witness accounts, police records, video, medical documentation, vehicle data, and other evidence can each contribute something different. When the cause of a Durham crash is disputed, reviewing those details carefully can help establish what happened and how the collision affected the injured person.