Most people have the misconception that if they are involved in a car accident, they should just call their insurance company and be done with it. This is not true. When you’re involved in an accident, there are some things you need to do immediately following the incident. If not, then you could find yourself stuck with serious legal consequences or even worse! Here are seven steps to follow after being involved in a car accident.
Get The Contact Information of Everyone Involved in the Accident
Make sure you get the name, address, phone number, and driver’s license number of everyone involved in the accident. This should include all other cars involved, other drivers, witnesses to the accident, and any passengers from those other cars or trucks. Make sure you ask for this information while it is still fresh in their minds.
Never rely on memory or wait until later when you can find them. It is easy for this information to slip people’s minds. If the police are involved, they will collect this information from everyone involved in order to do an accident report.
Get Treatment For Any Injuries You Have
People often think that the most important thing to do after a car accident is to find a good lawyer. When you neglect your physical condition, you might end up with a lot of health problems later on. Make sure you get treatment for any injuries you have from that moment on. If you have been injured in an accident, you should always seek medical attention.
Speak With Personal Injury Lawyers
A personal injury lawyer will be able to explain what your options are after a car accident. They can make sure you know about things like liability and insurance claims.
What if you don’t know any lawyer or know someone who knows one? Thanks to technology, you can search online taking your location into consideration, and get one willing to help you in no time. So if you live in North Carolina, something along the lines of ‘car accident lawyers in Raleigh’ would be just helpful. Calling a personal injury attorney is one of the best things you can do when involved in an accident.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Your insurance company will be able to help you with the next steps. They will explain to you about liability and your coverage. If someone is injured, they might have a chance of filing a claim with your insurance company. Call them as soon as possible after the accident. It is also a good idea to contact them before you speak with any other parties involved in the accident.
You should have gotten a claim number so it will help make things simpler in the long run. You can always give them this number so they know who you are and what your file is about. It should be pretty hard for them to have any questions regarding your identity after giving this information
Take Pictures Of The Accident Scene
If you didn’t take pictures at the scene of the incident, then do not worry! It is better to be safe than sorry and capturing evidence could turn out to be a good idea. If you own a smartphone, then you can take pictures of the scene and any damage done to both cars or trucks involved in the accident. This could help you later on when speaking with your insurance company to prove how much things have been damaged during the car accident.
Call The Police
If there has been an injury, then you need to call the police. They will come to the scene of the accident and write an official report. There is no way around it; if someone gets injured and needs medical attention, you will need to report this accident and file an official report.
This report could be crucial now or in the future so make sure you have it! Keep in mind that if they do not come to the scene, then you can still go to your local police station to file a claim no matter what.
Keep A Paper Trail
Quite similar to the first point above. Make sure you keep a paper trail of everything related to the accident. This means that you should always take note of names, contact information, and any other data that could prove valuable later on. All this information will be used during insurance claims so it is important to have as much as possible from those involved, witnesses, and even the police if they show up.
As you can see, there are many things that should be done after a car accident. These steps could prove invaluable later on when making an insurance claim and trying to understand what is going on with your legal options. You do not want any mistake at this point as it could mean the difference between getting the money you deserve and leaving empty-handed.