What To Do If You Are In An Accident
Most people do not live their day-to-day life thinking about what to do if they are in an auto accident. Others need help once they’ve already been in a car wreck, and they may be confused, intimidated, or afraid. At Hopson Legal, we have some recommendations to help you get through the immediate issues so that you can best protect your legal rights. If you follow these steps, it will help you to pursue recovery through your insurance claim or lawsuit.
1. Seek Medical Treatment Right Away. Your life and health are the most important thing to you and your family. Protect it first. If you are severely injured, call 911, and request an treatment at the scene, or an ambulance, if you are hurt.
2. Call the Police. Before you speak to anyone nearby, call the police. They will appear at the site of the wreck, preserve evidence, compile a police report, talk to witnesses, and obtain contact and insurance information with all parties involved in the accident. This information will become valuable to your lawyer in assessing and preparing your claim.
3. Exchange Information with the Other Driver. In some instances, police may take a long time to arrive, or may not be able to arrive at all. It is important that you obtain the other driver’s contact information, including their name, address, phone number, and insurance information, which you can photograph if they offer it. If they refuse any of this information, take down their tag number. If they remain at the scene and police arrive, the investigating officer will get this information as well. If not, ask them to do so.
4. Do NOT make any statements at the scene. If you interact with the other driver, remember that anything you say to any person at the scene is admissible in court. Do NOT tell anyone that “you’re okay,” or that “you’re fine.” You may feel okay, but you may be seriously injured and your comments will be used to argue later that you are not hurt. Politely and accurately answer an officer’s questions about what happened to cause the accident, but stick to the facts and only the facts. Do NOT make any statement about your health or condition – that may not be apparent for hours, or even days later. Do NOT speculate about anything or tell the officer your feelings about what caused the wreck. Do NOT talk to any witnesses or bystanders about what happened. Say as little as possible.
5. Preserve Evidence. If you are able, use your phone to take pictures. You should photograph all sides of each vehicle in the accident so as to show any and all damage, or lack of damage. Take photographs of the accident scene from as many angles as possible. Obtain name and contact information from any witnesses to the accident or to interactions with the other driver. Take photographs of any injuries you have. If you are not physically able to do this, ask someone if they can.
6. Follow Up with a Doctor. If you are able to leave the scene on your own, or you can drive your car away from the accident, it is important that you seek medical evaluation as soon as possible. Any gap in time between the accident and an evaluation will allow the insurance company to argue that your injury was not caused by the accident, but rather something else in your routine, such as an accident at the gym, or even sleeping in a funny position that hurts your neck. In addition, people have been known to feel fine at an accident scene and die from internal injuries shortly thereafter. A visit to a medical professional may save your life.
7. Keep Records. It will be useful to keep all of the documentation, photographs, and information from the accident in one place. In addition, any of the medical bills, records, and receipts are evidence of damages you can recover in an insurance claim or legal action. You want to keep these available for your own records and to provide to your lawyer to help you pursue your claims.
8. CALL YOUR LAWYER. Before you do anything else, contact your lawyer. In fact, this step can be any item from #2 through #8 on this list, with only protecting yourself in an emergency health situation always remaining your first priority. Aside from that, your lawyer will help you open the insurance claims available to you, without subjecting you to the insurance company practices of challenging your claims at the beginning of the process. Many claims are destroyed or undermined during the first call a person makes to the insurance company, and the representative will make you an unwitting accomplice to defeating your own case. Don’t let this happen. A call to a lawyer will protect your claims, advance your case faster, and increase the likelihood that you both recover, and recover more money, than if you try to handle the case yourself.
If you have been in an accident that is not your fault, call Hopson Legal today at (405) 673-7560 or (405) 633-0195. We are here to help you recover.