Involved In An Accident? Here’s What You Need To Do

Posted by: KHTS Articles in News Articles April 9, 2020 - 10:25 am 0 1,026 Views

There is an increasing amount of accidents that happen on the roads every year and there are still many people that don’t know what to do when they are involved. If you are one of these people, then there’s nothing to worry about, there have been many accidents before and the process is becoming much more streamlined with the help of many legal professionals if you chose to take that route.

Stop!

It’s your legal obligation to stop at the scene of an accident if you are a part of it. If you do not stop it could be classed as a hit and run or failing to stop and will go against you in a court of law. Even if you believe that no damage has been done to your vehicle or any others involved, you still have to stop.

Is anyone injured?

Once you’ve come to a stop, the first thing you need to do is make sure you are ok. If you are hurt, try to gauge the severity of your injuries and if you are ok and able to move then you should check the other parties involved to see if they are hurt or in danger. Seeking legal advice after an accident is a sensible way to go if you’re injured and unsure of how to file a personal injury claim, this way you’ll have the best chance in receiving a payout and putting your worries at bay for an already stressful time.

Call 911

If you are severely injured, then only worry about this step, call 911 and try to be as informative as possible. If you’ve had an accident and you’re unsure of where you are then trying to be as descriptive of your surroundings as possible will assist the emergency services greatly in their search for your location. Things such as landmarks, signposts, and highway mile markers make great points of interest.

Gather Evidence

If the injuries sustained aren’t that of a bad nature, then the next thing to do is to gather evidence. Collecting as much as possible at this stage will assist you greatly further down the line when it comes to filing a personal injury claim, or even your insurance claim. Always take photographs of the scene, this is brilliant evidence to have as it shows exactly what has happened and any surrounding factors. Drawing a diagram of the incident will often be helpful when trying to recall what has happened to any officers asking, and will be backed up by any photos that have been taken.

Try and obtain the information of any other person involved in the accident, this includes their car model, license plate, the name of the driver, their address, telephone number, and email address. If you can at this stage try and get the name of their insurance company and their policy number. Once you have the information of everyone else involved, then make a list of anything that will be helpful in building a case, the date and time, what the weather was like, and a description of what happened.

It’s worth noting that if the police are called to the scene, then they are legally bound to file a case report within 24 hours of the accident happening, this will have every bit of information needed so you won’t have to worry if you think you’ve missed anything.

Contact your Insurance

It is part of your contract with your insurance company to let them know every time you have an accident, so call them at the scene and you might find they will be able to assist you. It’s also beneficial to call them on the scene if there are police officers in attendance as they might be able to give more accurate information post-accident than yourself. Being upset or having higher adrenaline levels can often alter our view on things that have happened.

Get to Safety

Once all information has been recorded and all required parties have been contacted then we should be getting to safety. If the police have arrived, then a roadblock or diversion will probably be in place, allowing a clean up crew to come in and ensure any debris is off the road and ready for public use again. If there isn’t, then make sure you have found a safe spot to wait away from any moving traffic or potential dangers. It might take a while for a recovery truck to come so make sure you always carry some extra clothes in the car, just in case.

File your Claim

If you feel like the accident wasn’t your fault and you have collated enough evidence to build a successful case with your attorney then now is the time to file your claim. You might find that the opposing party will try and settle the claim outside of court. This can be beneficial, but will often suggest that they know they’re in the wrong and want to minimize any payment made to you. Keep a constant flow of communication going with your attorney and you’ll avoid any situation like this happening.

So if you’re unlucky enough to find yourself in an accident, stay calm and look after yourself first. There’s nothing more important than your own safety and livelihood. Remember the steps given and everything else will fall into place.