The role of the private investigator is something that is not understood by every client, and surprisingly, not understood by many law firms.
What is the role of a private investigator? In short, the private investigator helps to determine the series of events that led to the car accident in which you sustained your injuries.
You might be asking yourself: why do I need to work with a private investigator for my personal injury case?
Law firms across Northern California, and indeed across the country, rely on the services of private investigators to obtain specific information about an accident and to help determine who may be liable for injuries that occurred.
I know that we are very proud of having some of the finest private investigators in California, and we have specific private investigators for different types of investigations.
Whether you got hurt in a motor vehicle crash or in another type of accident, we can help to gather the evidence you need to support your case.
A private investigator’s work can assist us as we build a case that demonstrates the defendant was negligent and is liable for the accident.
Roles of Private Investigators in Personal Injury Lawsuits
The primary role of private investigators in personal injury lawsuits is to gather evidence that supports the plaintiff’s case. They can obtain crucial information by conducting investigations and collecting evidence from various sources, such as accident scenes, medical records, and police reports. Investigators can also retrieve data from social media, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
The role is to find out before a lawsuit is filed, what happened, what happened in addition to what the police report says happened, and very often the role is also to talk to the person at fault, find out what their current version of the accident is–and their role in it–as opposed to what they told the police officer. And, if it’s inconsistent, if they’re saying something very different 30 days after the accident then they said at the time of the accident to the police officer, that is going to cut into their credibility.
Additionally, many times a police officer is short on time, has 10 minutes to write up the whole thing and get out of there as opposed to our private investigators who can take hours and hours and make sure they get it right. There are a lot of important facts that get left out of police reports that are included in a personal injury lawyers’ investigator’s reports.
Let us give you some examples of what a private investigator can do:
- Imagine that you sustained very severe physical injuries at the scene of an accident, and as such you were unable to take photographs of the scene or to record names of witnesses. By the time the police arrived at the scene of the collision, several of the witnesses already had left, and none of their information was included in the police report. A private investigator can track down witnesses who might have observed the accident, and might have even taken photos or video on their smartphone. While the police report may include information about witnesses who stuck around at the scene, some of those witnesses who left prior to the police report could have some of the most important information and evidence to support your case. Photos and video on a witness’s smartphone can be used to allow an accident reconstruction expert to prove that the defendant was responsible for the accident.
- Imagine that your injuries were serious but not life-threatening, and at the scene of the accident you spoke to the defendant about the crash. The defendant may have admitted that she ran a stop sign immediately before the crash. When the police come, you state this information to the police, and you also provide this information to the insurance company. However, the defendant tells a different story. Perhaps she omits information about the stop sign altogether, or perhaps she contends that you were actually the party that ran the stop sign. A private investigator can spend hours looking into such allegations (or lack thereof), and can question the defendant. The private investigator often can uncover information that casts doubt onto the defendant’s story, and in some cases can prove that the defendant lied or omitted information when speaking to the police.
- They can provide expert testimony.Private investigators can provide expert testimony to support the plaintiff’s case. They can use their expertise to analyze evidence, reconstruct the accident scene, and provide an opinion on the defendant’s negligence. Expert testimony can be critical in convincing a judge or jury to rule in favor of the plaintiff.
Why Should I Work With a Private Investigator?
Further, as a report from Eastern Tennessee State University explains, plaintiffs often are able to win their cases in court because of close teamwork practiced between private investigators and personal injury attorneys. Private investigators uncover the information that personal injury attorneys need to prove their clients’ claims.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today
At GJEL Accident Attorneys, we have years of experience handling personal injury lawsuits and working closely with dedicated private investigators. A highly rated California personal injury attorney at our firm can discuss your case with you today. Contact us to learn more.
Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is the managing partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Andy is a highly recognized wrongful death lawyer in California.