Why Your Car Accident Attorney is Your Best Resource After an Accident
Oct. 29, 2018
Car accidents are a way of life. Unfortunately, nearly six million car accidents take place in the United States each year. No matter what many people do to avoid a car accident or how much you try to protect yourself, it is still possible that you become a victim of a car accident. Preparation is key, the best preparation is to first, contact a car accident attorney immediately in order to preserve evidence, your rights, and protect yourself.
Secondly, the remainder of this article discusses what your car accident attorney will go over with you and the steps they will walk you through in order to make sure you are compensated for any personal injuries or property damage.
What To Do After a Car Accident
Medical Attention
Ask for medical attention immediately even if you do not feel like you have been injured. It can take days for injuries to show up, it is better to be safe than sorry in the end.
Get a Police Report
After you have called your car accident attorney, call the police department so that they can deploy a police officer to the scene to take an accident report. You need as much documentation as possible of the accident and you do not want what happened to come down to your word against the other driver's word.
Take a lot of photos
Photos are a key piece of evidence in any car accident case. Photos are the only way that the judge or jury can physically see the scene of the accident, the angles, the cars involved, and landmarks.
Get Driver's and Witness's Information
Make sure to get the following from the driver or drivers of the other vehicles as well as any witnesses that saw the accident occur:
Address
Phone Number
License Plate Number (of all vehicles involved in the car accident)
Make, Model, and Year (all cars involved in the accident)
Insurance from all drivers involved in the accident
VIN number of all cars involved in the accident
Driver's License Numbers of all involved in the accident
This information will be passed to your car accident attorney, who will be able to interview and gain important insight and information about the accident.
Take Notes
Since your car accident attorney is not at the scene of the accident with you, you want to be able to relay to them everything about the accident, including the weather that day, the time of the accident, the date, what happened while it is still fresh in your mind, any landmarks, and a diagram or several diagrams, to show how the accident occurred.
Report to Insurance Immediately
Once you are released from the scene, the police report has been made, your notes are completed, and you have collected all the necessary information from the other driver(s) and witnesses, call your insurance company to let them know that there has been an accident. Typically your insurance company will want you to give a recorded statement over the phone. Do not do this! This is very important: do not agree to any recorded statement or sign any documents without your car accident attorney present. You will want to go over your statement with your car accident attorney and make sure you understand anything you are signing. Your car accident attorney should be skilled and experienced enough to know what insurance companies are going to ask you to sign and how to help you accurately report the facts of the accident to your insurance company.
Conclusion
It is very easy to become overwhelmed and confused about how to proceed after you have been in a car accident. Adrenaline is pumping and your heart is probably racing. Take a deep breath and call your car accident attorney immediately, let them walk you through the steps described above if you feel too shaken up to complete them yourself. With the help of a stellar car accident attorney, your rights will be protected and you should be fully compensated for any harm or loss sustained.
For more information or to schedule a consultation with us, contact us here.
NOTE: This Blog is for Informational Purposes Only and Does Not Constitute Legal Advice