In the unfortunate event of a traffic accident, parties involved will usually take photographs of the vehicles’ damage using mobile phones for filing insurance claims or to safeguard their liabilities.
In our article “Traffic accident: What can you do to safeguard your case?” it is recommended that any physical evidence should be collected by competent traffic accident experts as soon as possible. However, a Forensic Expert may not be engaged immediately, and valuable evidence may be lost over time or when the damaged vehicle is sent for repair.
When the Forensic Expert does not have first-hand access to the accident site to collect and document the damage and surroundings, photo or video evidence becomes the second-best form of evidence. However, incorrectly captured photographs may have no evidential value when little or no useful information can be gleaned from them.
Here, we provide some tips on how to capture useful photographs of any vehicular damage that may be of value to the analysis, should a Forensic Expert be subsequently engaged.
Take photographs of the damaged area(s) as soon as possible.
Take both close-up and overview photos of the damage.
Where possible, stand directly in front of the area you wish to photograph. Additional photos at different angles may also be taken.
Photograph under good lighting, avoiding reflections from the camera flash as certain details or features may be obscured.
Avoid touching the damaged areas to maintain their integrity.
Additionally, contact us ASAP if you plan to send your vehicle for repairs, so that any physical evidence can be documented and/or collected by our experts for future analysis if the need arises. For more information, contact us at enquiries@forensicexperts.com.sg or 6459 0494.