Learning what to do after a vehicle accident is not only essential for the safety of every passenger in your vehicle, the actions that you take can even keep you from breaking the law.
In fact, when you take time to educate yourself, you will have a quick guide to walk through the entire process. From understanding how you should respond to any injuries sustained to ensuring the police come immediately to the scene of the accident, every action should be planned strategically.
With these things in mind, here are 8 critical steps that can help guide you through each action that must be taken.
Step 1: Make Sure You are Injury Free
Immediately after the impact between your car and the other vehicle, it is very important that you act quickly by checking your own body for any injuries that require immediate attention. If you see that you have been injured, you should call 911 for help right away. Or, if you are not able to make the phone call, you may ask someone else that is nearby to make the call for you. On the other hand, if you have sustained a serious injury, your best advice is to remain stable while waiting for emergency responders to provide treatment at the scene of the accident.
2. Check on your Passengers
If you have passengers inside of your vehicle, it is very important that you check on the welfare of them as well. This is especially the case for those of you who have no been injured. For instance, if someone in the front or back seat of your car is injured anyway, you need to make the phone call to notify 911 asap. Or, if you are not able to make the call while helping someone else, you can always ask a person that is passing by the scene to assist you with making the proper contact.
3. Don’t forget to Get to a Safe Place
When your vehicle is hit, the law actually tells you to leave your vehicle in the same position. By leaving the cars in the same place, the investigating officer can review the scene to identify what actually happened. For instance, the position of the cars may provide information about the accident that tells them who was at fault and how the accident happened.
On the other hand, if your vehicle is still drivable and you are able to move it safely to the side of the road, you need to take action as soon as you can. By following this procedure, you can help to prevent other hazards from happening to anyone else in the near vicinity.
4. Call 911 to Get Immediate Emergency from the Police and Medical Responders
If you have followed all of the steps provided above without having to call 911, you should call 911 now for assistance. Based on the laws of that particular state, you may be required to call in both minor fender benders and major collision to the police. The role of the police investigator is to make a report of the scene in written form. The report that the document is to be used for a number of different reasons including deciding who is at fault and for proof of the accident that occurred. This information will be sent to the insurance provider when you are filing your insurance claim.
5. After making the Call for the Police Wait Until they Arrive
While waiting for the police to arrive at the scene, here is what you need to do.
– turn off the engine of your car
– turn your hazard lights on to forewarn other cars
– Use road flares to warn other drivers from afar
6. Exchange Important Relevant Driver Information
After you have completely reviewed the scene of the accident and taken the appropriate measures, you should begin exchanging information with the driver of the other vehicle. Here is a brief overview of the information that you should secure before leaving the accident so that you can expedite the filing of your claim.
– Secure the other drivers’ full name and their contact info
– You need the name of the driver Insurance Provider and their policy number
– Ask for their Driver’s license number for your records
– Take a snapshot of their license plate, the color of their car and their model
– Record the exact location of the accident
To protect your interest, you will find that many personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles firms advise against discussing various details of the accident with the other driver of the vehicle. The fault of the accident will be determined by several other factors including the accident report filed by the police investigator, tha claim adjuster that responds to your accident claim or the court if the case goes before a judge. Therefore, the less that you say to the other driver at the accident the better.
#7 – Make a File of the Accident for Your Own Personal Usage
By making a file that documents every aspect of the accident, you can always relay what you have gathered. Here are some things that should go in the file as follow that will be needed for the insurance adjuster and the personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles that you hire to review your case.
– Information about the officer(name and badge number of the officer) that recorded the accident report and documentation about the other driver that was involved.
– The information that you document will make it easier to secure a copy of the report that they file with the police department.
– Take snapshots of the evidence that you will need to support your claim. For instance, immediately after the accident, you should take snapshots of your own vehicle. These pictures should all of the damage to your vehicle, from the front, back and both sides. You should do the same for the other drivers’ vehicle too including taking a picture of their license plate. These pictures will not only assist in supporting the claims that you make but will also help to speed up the processing of your claim by the insurance adjuster.
– Record the names of passengers and any witness that’s involved. You may need to provide this information and their contact numbers as additional support to your car accident attorney and your insurance provider.
#8 – Contact Your Insurance Company ASAP and your Car Accident Attorney to Report the Vehicle Accident
If your car is still driveable, you may be able to make it home with ease. Specifically, if it is just a fender bender that will probably only need cosmetic repairs. On the other hand, if there is severe damage to the vehicle and it is not driveable, you may even need a new car to replace the car that was totaled.
In either event, you need to file a claim with the insurance company asap to get the ball rolling right away. Based on the insurance coverage that you have purchased, you may be able to requests a rental car so that you do not miss work or any other engagements that you have planned. Also, to make sure that you know what to do next, contact West Coast Trial Lawyers for additional information.
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