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
Car Accident Documentation for People Handling Their Own Claim
If you are handling a car accident claim yourself, Delator Claims Division can send a licensed Tennessee private investigator to record your vehicle and the crash location. We document evidence only. We are not a law firm and we do not advise on your claim.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Most people come out of a collision with a handful of phone pictures taken in a hurry, often at night, often from one angle. Those pictures show that something happened. They rarely show how far the damage extends, where on the road the cars met, or what each driver could see on the approach. A field visit fills those gaps with a methodical record made by someone who was not in the crash.
The service has firm limits. Delator does not negotiate with any insurance company, does not act as a public adjuster, and does not tell you what your claim is worth or what to do with the file we deliver. We do not decide who caused the collision. You receive a factual record of what is physically there, and every decision about how to use it stays with you.
Situations where drivers ask for a field record
- Your car is about to go to a body shop or salvage yard and you want its current condition recorded first.
- The other driver's account of the collision has changed since the day it happened, and the roadway itself has not been photographed.
- Your own pictures were taken in the dark or in rain, and the damage and the intersection are hard to make out.
- An insurance representative has asked you for clearer images of the vehicle or the location, and you want a third party to take them.
- You were taken from the scene by ambulance and never had the chance to photograph anything yourself.
What the investigator records
- Exterior damage, panel by panel
- Each damaged panel photographed straight on and at an angle, with a scale in the frame, plus all four sides and corners of the car for context.
- Contact height and paint transfer
- The height of the impact area above the ground, the direction of scrapes, and any foreign paint or material left on your vehicle by the other one.
- Interior and safety equipment
- Deployed airbags, seat belt condition, seat positions, broken glass and the dashboard as found, photographed without moving or adjusting anything inside the car.
- The crash location
- The lanes, lane markings, signs and signals at the place you identify, photographed from each direction of approach at driver eye height.
- Marks and debris still present
- Tire marks, gouges, fluid stains and broken plastic that remain on the pavement, located by measurement to a fixed reference point where traffic conditions allow.
- Identifying details
- The license plate, vehicle identification number, odometer reading and tire condition, so the record is tied to one specific car on one specific date.
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.
How a third-party record differs from your own phone pictures
A phone picture is taken by a person with a stake in the outcome, usually without a scale, a sequence or a note about where the photographer was standing. That does not make it false, but it leaves a reader guessing. Our investigators work through the vehicle and the location in a fixed order, record the date and time of every image, and write field notes that describe what each set of photographs shows.
The person holding the camera matters too. The investigator has no financial interest in your claim and is not paid based on how it turns out. The notes describe conditions and do not offer opinions about fault, repair cost or value. Anyone who later reviews the file, whether an insurance representative, a repair shop or an attorney you may decide to consult, sees the same plain record of the car and the roadway.
What changes after an ordinary collision
Cars are repaired, sold or moved to salvage yards, and once that happens the damage pattern exists only in whatever images were taken beforehand. At the scene, glass and plastic fragments are swept or scattered by traffic within days. Tire marks fade with rain and wear. Vegetation is trimmed, signs are replaced and lane markings are repainted. Physical evidence of this kind is perishable, and the timing of a visit affects how much of it remains.
Tennessee uses a modified comparative fault system, so how responsibility is divided between drivers can matter to a claim. Delator does not make that division and does not predict how anyone else will. What we can do is record the physical facts that people tend to argue about later, such as where the damage sits on each vehicle and what the approach to the location looks like, while those facts can still be observed.
Delator documents evidence for people handling their own claim. It does not give legal advice, negotiate with insurers, tell you what a claim is worth, or act as a public adjuster. What you do with the record is your decision.
If you need advice about your rights, deadlines or strategy, speak with a licensed Tennessee attorney.
Common questions about this service
Can you tell me whether the insurance company's offer is fair?
No. Delator Claims Division documents evidence only. We are not a law firm, we do not give legal advice, and we do not value, appraise or negotiate claims or act as a public adjuster. We cannot tell you what your claim is worth or what to do with the documentation. Those decisions are yours.
What do I actually receive?
A set of timestamped photographs, video where it helps, measurements and reference points where the scene allows, and factual field notes describing what was recorded and when. The file is delivered to you securely, typically the same day as the visit. It belongs to you, and you choose who else sees it.
My car is at a tow yard. Can you document it there?
Usually, yes, as long as the yard permits access. You would arrange permission with the yard or tell us who to contact, and the investigator documents the car where it sits. If the yard refuses entry or the vehicle has already been released, we will tell you plainly what could and could not be recorded.
How quickly can someone come out?
There are three deployment tiers: Routine, with an investigator on site in one to two days, Rush in 12 to 20 hours, and Emergency in 30 minutes to four hours. Dispatch runs around the clock in all 95 Tennessee counties. Flat-rate pricing for each tier is published on the pricing page.
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.