Being involved in a motor vehicle accident can be scary. There are injuries that you have to worry about as well as damage to your vehicle. Acting appropriately at the time of the accident will help to solidify your injury claim and ensure that your vehicle gets repaired or replaced. Here are five things that you should always consider doing when you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Always Get Medical Treatment
Any skilled attorney will be able to tell you the absolute importance of seeking medical attention when an accident occurs. Even if you don’t feel injured at the time of the accident, it’s best to pay close attention to your symptoms. If there is a medical crew on site, you should get checked out. This way, there is documented evidence of seeking medical attention.
It is important to note that not all car accident injuries will appear right away. Rather, sometimes the adrenaline running through your body at the time of the accident can mask symptoms. You may not notice these symptoms until later on after your body has calmed down from the event. Other injuries may not show symptoms for days. A good example of this is whiplash. It is vital that you take note of any medical symptoms that you may be experiencing in the days after the accident and seek medical attention.
Documentation is king when it comes to personal injury claims. You should keep a record book of all the doctor’s appointments you have gone to. You should notate the doctor’s orders, any prescription medications you are taking, and so forth. While it is easy to think that you may be able to remember all of the aspects of your medical treatment, it is not uncommon to forget details after a few days. By writing everything down, you and your lawyer can easily refer back to your medical history when needed.
Never Leave The Scene
If you are in a car crash, you should never leave the scene until the report is completed. This holds true in every case except if you need to seek immediate medical treatment. In that case, you should be leaving the scene of the accident in an ambulance. Otherwise, you want to stay on the scene to ensure that your claim goes correctly.
When you are on the scene, you can collect insurance and driver information from the other vehicle or vehicles involved. Be sure to get witness information as well so that your lawyer can call on them in the future if need be. The officer called to the scene of the accident should be able to provide you with a report or give you an estimated completion date so that you can have a copy of the report. Only leave the scene once you’ve talked with the officer and are sure they don’t need anything else from you.
Pictures And Videos Make All The Difference
When it comes to proving your personal injury case, pictures and videos can go a long way in constituting facts. We all tend to have smartphones with us. Use yours to your advantage by taking pictures and videos of the accident scene. Be sure to include all the vehicles and their damages. Try to get the entire scene as a whole, whether it’s an intersection or a turn on a one-lane road. The clearer images you can get, the easier it will be for a judge or jury to decide what the facts of the case actually are.
Initiate The Claims Process
In order for you to receive compensation for your injuries as well as the damage to your vehicle, you will need to get in contact with the other driver’s insurance company. If you are working with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer, they will be able to start the claims process for you. However, realize that you may have to tell the insurance company that they must go through your lawyer in order to contact you.
Realize that the insurance company is a business and they are trying to save themselves as much money as possible. When they know that their client is responsible for your damages, they may try to settle your case. In some cases, this may be in your best interests. In other cases, it may not be. You should always consult your personal injury lawyer before you ever consider settling with the insurance company. Realize that when you sign those legal documents for a settlement, you can no longer go back to the insurance company for more money. This holds true even if you have injuries that did not show up until after the settlement was completed.
Always Contact A Lawyer
Being involved in a car accident is not something that anyone wants to deal with, but it does happen from time to time. You should do your best to contact a lawyer as soon as possible if you were injured in an auto accident. The quicker they know about the accident, the more evidence they are going to be able to gather to fight for your case.
Contacting an experienced lawyer is your best bet to win your claim. Your lawyer should be in the field of personal injury law. Don’t settle for a general practice lawyer as they are not going to be as up to date as other personal injury lawyers about recent personal injury rulings. You want a lawyer who solely focuses on the personal injury field as they will have the assets and connections to people, such as expert witnesses, that are vital in proving your case. If you are looking for such a lawyer, consider searching online “personal injury lawyer near me” and see what you find.
Being involved in a car accident is not something that any of us really want to think about. However, from time to time, people have to deal with the damages and injuries that result from motor vehicle accidents. If you are ever involved in a motor vehicle accident, you should perform the five steps above to ensure your financial, mental, and physical stability.