You were humming along on a bright and sunny day when
suddenly Fred Fuddle, a local character from a nearby town, drunk as a
skunk and zooming along in his pickup, flew through stop sign crashing
into the right front of your motor vehicle. You had no choice to avoid
him. Now the time has come to settle your claim for property damage and
personal injuries. Let’s talk about photographs one of the basics that
should have been taking place - - just as soon as possible - - after
that impact had taken place.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF INJURIES: Photographs are often the best
evidence you can produce to increase the value of your claim. If your
accident causes bodily injuries that are visible (such as bruises, deep
cuts, swellings, lacerations, dislocations and/or black and blue marks)
it’s crucial, to the ultimate settlement value of your case, that you
have photographs taken of those just as soon as possible! Take them
from 3 feet away and also as close as you can so as to capture the
seriousness of heir existence. When you hand those to Adjuster I. M.
Smart from the Granite Insurance Company believe me when I tell you
he’ll stare at them and blanch!

Question: "How does Dan know this to be so"?

Answer: "Because for 38 years Dan was there and felt that"!

PHOTOGRAPHS OF BOTH VEHICLES: You should take photographs of the
damages to your vehicle from several different angles. If at all
possible find the motor vehicle that hit you and take photographs of
that damage also. When it comes to proving the impact your body was
subjected to (and in many cases to prove who was at fault) those
photographs could one day be worth their weight in gold.

HOW TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE ACCIDENT SCENE: The pictures of
each accident scene should be taken from at least three different
angles: Snap several of a “general view” of the area from about 20 to
40 feet away; a couple more “medium range” shot’s from 10 to 15 feet
away, and then some “close up” shot’s from 3 to 5 feet away. If it’s at
all possible all three different distances should have a common point
or orientation. If, for example, you’re snapping photographs of a skid
mark, it should be taken from an angle so as to clearly show were that
skid mark is, in relation to a landmark, like a street sign, a
building, a fire hydrant, etc. Another photograph should then be taken
with a closer view - - one clearly identifying the skid mark in detail
- -and also, if possible, include this readily identifiable object or
landmark (the street signs, building‘s, etc.).

Because they’re such potent evidence you should blow up those
photographs of the skid marks, taken from 3 to 6 feet away, into 8X10
glossies. A total of 12 to 15 photographs of the accident scene and/or
the skid marks are not too many. When you hand copies of the 8X10
glossy photograph’s of those skid marks to the adjuster, to help
justify he payment he’ll eventually make to you, it will absolutely
increase the value of your claim.

"Why" you ask?

The answer to that one is, "Because it will tell both adjuster
Smart and his supervisor (who, in the end, will usually call the shots
on how much your settlement dollars should be) that you know what
you’re doing and you’re not the type of individual who can be taken
advantage of".

A WORD OF CAUTION: The individual engaged in the task of
snapping photograph’s of your body, the accident scene, etc., should be
careful to make sure they’re not undertaking this effort with a casual,
hasty or careless attitude - - one that tends to leave it up to do the
camera to do the thinking for them. Rather, the photographer ought to
carefully consider the process the process slowly and seriously so that
the photos produced will produce the maximum value.

If at all possible photos should be taken of the exact location
on the road where the impact occurred, and shots of all relevant gouge
and/or chop marks on the surface, plus traffic signs, etc., as
applicable.

It cannot be emphasized enough that photographs of skid marks
are invaluable evidence, since they can often indicate Fuddle’s speed
at the time of impact and can be a tremendous asset when it comes to
establishing fault.

A good practice to follow is to make a brief notation on the
backs of all photos, entering upon them a brief account of what the
photo is showing, the date it was taken and by whom.

Photographs of injuries, the accident scene and the road surface if done correctly - - is money in the bank !