Carabin Shaw is one of the leading personal injury law firms in Texas. They have extensive experience in accident cases, focusing on securing compensation for clients' medical bills, property damage, and pain and suffering.
Fault in a car accident is not decided by who sounds the most convincing. It is decided by evidence. Our San Antonio car accident lawyers build fault cases from the hard proof: the crash report, photos, video, witness accounts, and data pulled straight from the vehicles. The stronger and more complete that evidence, the harder it is for an insurance company to shift the blame onto you. Much of this proof disappears within days, so moving quickly to gather it often decides how a claim turns out.
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The first piece of evidence in most cases is the Texas peace officer's crash report, known as the CR-3. It records the officer's observations, the drivers' and witnesses' statements, a diagram of the scene, road and weather conditions, and any citations issued. The report is not the final word on fault, and it can contain errors, but it is an important starting point. We compare what it says against the rest of the evidence and challenge it when the facts do not match.
Photographs taken at the scene capture details that vanish once vehicles are towed and the road is cleared. We want pictures of the vehicle positions, the damage to every car, skid marks, debris, traffic signals, road signs, and any visible injuries. If you were able to take photos at the scene, they can be powerful. If not, we work to obtain images from police, other drivers, and first responders before that evidence is gone.
Video is often the single most persuasive proof of fault. A dashcam in your car or another vehicle may have recorded the entire crash. Nearby businesses, traffic cameras, doorbell cameras, and parking lots frequently capture the moments before impact. This footage can settle a dispute instantly by showing exactly who ran the light or crossed the line. Because many systems record over their footage within days, we send preservation letters right away to keep that video from being erased.
Drivers in the Austin area face the same fight over evidence.
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Independent witnesses who have no stake in the outcome carry real weight. A bystander, another driver, or a passenger can describe what they saw before memories fade. We identify and interview witnesses quickly, because their accounts often fill gaps the physical evidence cannot. A neutral witness who saw the other driver speeding or looking at a phone can be the key to proving fault when the two drivers tell opposite stories.
Most modern vehicles store information in an event data recorder, the car's version of a black box. It can show speed, braking, throttle, steering, and seat belt use in the seconds before a crash. Commercial trucks hold even more through their engine control modules and telematics systems. This data is objective and hard to dispute. Our San Antonio auto accident attorneys act fast to preserve it, because a repaired or scrapped vehicle can take that evidence with it.
The scene itself tells a story. Skid marks reveal speed and braking, the final resting positions of the vehicles show the force and angle of impact, and the crush damage on each car points to how the collision happened. Debris, fluid trails, and gouges in the pavement all help reconstruct the sequence of events. We document this physical evidence before it is swept away or washed off by the weather.
When distraction is suspected, cell phone records can prove a driver was texting, calling, or using an app at the moment of the crash. These records are not easy to obtain and usually require a subpoena, but they can transform a case. Matching the timestamp of a text to the time of impact gives a jury clear, concrete proof that the other driver was not watching the road.
When fault is seriously disputed, we bring in accident reconstruction engineers. They use the physical evidence, the vehicle data, and scene measurements to calculate speeds, impact angles, and the sequence of events. Their analysis rests on physics rather than opinion, which is why insurers and juries give it weight. A strong reconstruction can defeat the false version of events that an at-fault driver is trying to sell.
Proving fault is only part of a claim; your medical records connect the crash to your injuries and show what it has cost you. Prompt treatment creates a clear record that links your harm to the collision and undercuts any argument that your injuries came from something else. We gather your records and bills and, when needed, your doctors' opinions on exactly how the crash caused your injuries.
The evidence that proves fault is strongest right after a crash and weakest once time passes and it begins to disappear. Our San Antonio car accident attorneys move quickly to lock down the report, the video, the data, and the witnesses before any of it is lost. Call Carabin Shaw at (210) 222-2288 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win your case.
