Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Documentation for Disputed Accidents and Conflicting Accounts
When two drivers describe the same collision differently, Delator Claims Division documents the physical evidence that exists apart from either account. The service is neutral and available to carriers, attorneys, fleet operators and individuals across Tennessee.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Each driver says the other crossed the center line. One says the light was green; the other says the same. A crash report may record both versions without resolving them, and where no officer responded there may be no report at all. In these claims the file comes down to two statements, and whoever reviews it has little else to weigh.
Physical evidence does not take a side. Damage location and direction, debris fields, tire marks, signal layout and lane geometry can each be photographed and measured without reference to what either driver said. Delator's field personnel document those features and record each account's specific claims so a reader can compare them against the scene. Delator does not decide which driver is right.
Disputes where a neutral record helps
- Two drivers each report having a green light, and no independent witness is listed on the crash report.
- A sideswipe claim turns on which vehicle left its lane, and both drivers say they were holding their own.
- One driver's description of the impact changes between the roadside, the first notice of loss, and a later call.
- The damage described in a claim appears inconsistent with the way one driver says the vehicles came together.
- An attorney or adjuster needs the scene recorded before deciding whether to retain someone for a reconstruction analysis.
Physical points that can be compared to each account
- Contact damage on both vehicles
- Height, location and direction of scrapes, dents and paint transfer on each vehicle, photographed with a scale so the two damage patterns can be matched.
- Each driver's stated path
- The route each driver describes is driven or walked and photographed from the driver's eye position, with the stated point of impact marked and measured.
- Lane and marking layout
- Lane widths, turn-lane lengths, stop bars, center lines and merge tapers are measured where the scene allows and referenced to fixed points.
- Signal arrangement
- Signal head positions, the lanes each head governs, and the observed sequence at the time of the visit are recorded on video, without any opinion about the phase on the loss date.
- Marks and debris still present
- Tire marks, gouges, fluid stains and remaining fragments are photographed in place with distances to curb lines and lane lines.
- Points of agreement and conflict
- Field notes list, side by side and without comment, what each account says about speed, position, signals and sequence, as provided by the requester.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
What usually gets disputed, and what the scene can show
Disputes tend to cluster around a few questions: who had the signal, who was in which lane, who was moving at impact, and who struck whom. Some of these leave a physical trace. A vehicle that was stopped and struck tends to show different damage than one that was moving across the other's path. Paint transfer shows which surfaces touched. A debris field marks the general area where the vehicles met.
Other questions leave nothing behind. No photograph taken a week later shows what color a light was. In that case the useful record is of the conditions around the question: where each driver could first see the signal, whether a turn arrow exists, where cameras are mounted on nearby buildings. Delator records what the scene can and cannot show and says so plainly, without filling the gap with an opinion.
How the documentation is used by others
Tennessee applies modified comparative fault, so the percentage assigned to each driver affects the outcome of a claim. That allocation is made by adjusters, attorneys, arbitrators or a court. They are better served by a file that separates observation from assertion. Delator's report keeps the two apart: photographs, measurements and notes in one part, and each party's account as given in another.
Delator's personnel have accident reconstruction experience, which informs what is photographed and measured, so the record is usable if a reconstruction analysis is later requested. A neutral documentation assignment stops short of that analysis. The report does not state which account the evidence favors and does not assign fault. The same file can be handed to either side or to a third party without changes.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Will your report say which driver is telling the truth?
No. On a neutral documentation assignment Delator records physical evidence and sets out each account as provided. It does not assess credibility or determine fault. Readers such as adjusters, attorneys or a court draw their own conclusions from the photographs, measurements and notes.
The vehicles have already been repaired. Is there anything left to document?
Often there is. Lane layout, signal positions, sightlines and nearby cameras remain after the vehicles are gone, and repair estimates and shop photographs can be collected from the requester and indexed. The report notes clearly which evidence was observed first-hand and which came from existing records.
Can you speak with both drivers?
Field personnel can record a voluntary account from any driver or witness who agrees to give one, verbatim and without characterization. A driver who is represented or who declines is not pressed. Delator does not negotiate between the parties or carry messages about the claim.
How soon after the collision does this need to happen?
Sooner preserves more. Tire marks, fluid stains and debris fade or are swept away within days, and camera systems overwrite footage on their own schedules. Emergency deployment runs from 30 minutes to 4 hours, and Rush and Routine tiers are available when the scene is already cold.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.