1. If you car is involved in an accident, don't leave the scene
of the accident. If you don't stop for an accident you may be
subject to criminal prosecution. After an impact and collision
try not to move your vehicles until the police arrive in order
to allow the policeman to survey the scene and to ensure that
evidence regarding how the accident occurred is preserved. If
your vehicles are obstructing the flow of traffic, try to move
your vehicle the shortest distance possible from the place of
impact without obstructing further traffic. Remain at the scene
of the accident and have other who have witnessed the occurrence
immediately contact the police. If you are injured, do not exit
your vehicle.
2. When you have been the victim of someone else's lack of care
in operating their automobile, it is important that you contact
the local police department immediately in order to preserve
your rights. Do not allow the other operator to convince you that this should be "handled among
ourselves". Calling the police department is especially
important step if you feel any pain or injury as a result of
the accident. Remember, if there is a lawsuit latter on, your
counterpart in the accident may have a completely different story
when the matter reaches court than the one that he or she tells
you at the scene of the accident.
3. Many people, even when they feel pain, will refuse medical
attention at the scene and travel home. Then, after several hours
of increasing pain, they will finally go to the hospital and
present themselves at the emergency room. When their case reaches
court, this delay in seeking medical attention is often used
against them as a weapon to prove that the accident did not cause
the injury. If you feel pain at an accident scene and an ambulance
is offered, utilize the ambulance services to go immediately
to the closest emergency room.
B. Exchanging Information with the Other Driver
1. Obtain the following information with the other driver: name, address, telephone number, driver's license number, name of insurance company, and policy number;
2. Names of passengers, including their address and phone number;
3. Names of witnesses with address and phone number; and
4. Names of the owner, if not the driver, including address, phone number, insurance company, and policy number.
Make notes as to the time of day, weather conditions, road conditions, street lights, and the presence or length of skid marks. Try to make a diagram noting the location of the vehicles, crosswalks, stop signs, and traffic signals.
When you exchange information with the other driver and give the facts to the police, do not feel obligated to admit responsibility for the accident. The things that you say immediately following an accident may be used against you during the course of litigation. You may think that you were responsible for the accident and later learn that the other driver caused it or the other driver was equally at fault.
C. Towing Your Car
Before you allow a truck driver to pick up your car, be sure
to ask the driver how much it will cost and tell the driver where
to take the car. Get the name, address, license number, registration
number, and telephone number of the driver and the towing company.
D. Important Steps Following a Car Accident
1. Contact a Lawyer
In this day and age, the simplest automobile accidents require
as many steps to be undertaken by a person who suffers injury.
Your own insurance company must be contacted in the appropriate
way with information regarding your personal injury protection
plan obtained. No-fault benefits need to be secured as well as
any benefits that may be available for an uninsured vehicle accident
or an underinsured vehicle accident. Failure to properly notify
the company through competent counsel may lead to an objection
to such a claim on a later date.
Often times, forms must be filed with the Department of Public
Safety, the local Police Department, or the Registry of Motor
Vehicles. The assistance of a lawyer may be invaluable to the
proper presentation of these forms.
2. Follow Up With Your Medical Care
In many cases involving injury, it is important that you follow
up your medical care on a consistent basis. In many medical circles
today, it is important that proper follow-up medical care be
obtained in order to keep a person from developing further pain
which may become intractable in the future. A doctor may recognize
injuries, sometimes serious, that are not readily apparent from
the first Emergency Room visit nor to you, even at a later date.
The charges for a doctor's visit and medical treatment may be
covered by insurance.
See Car Accidents Organized By US states Here >>
View Car Accident Organized by Country >>
Car Accident Books >>
Find Car Accident Attorneys | Car Accident Statistics | Car Accident Pictures | Legal Rights and Information |
Truck Accidents | Submit Your Case >>
Head and Brain Injury | Auto Accident Reconstruction | Seat Belts save lives | Rules of Conduct at the Auto Accident Scene
Uninsured drivers | Car Accident Cases | Whiplash | Broken Bone Injuries | Herniated Disc Injury Claims
Return to the Home Page
All contents copyright Car Accidents.com