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What To Do When You or Someone You Care About Has Been in an Accident
Everyone has questions about what they should do after an accident. This is important to know. Below are some of the most important things to do.
Stay calm and do not leave the scene.
If you are in an accident and you leave the scene, that is known as a "hit and run." If you leave the scene, you may be charged with a felony. This includes accidents where it looks like it is only minor property damage.
Call for help.
Call 9-1-1 for help. The police will instruct you as to whether to move the vehicles and will conduct their investigation including taking witness statements, completing an accident report, and calling for an ambulance.
If injured, seek medical care.
If you or a loved one are injured, seek medical care. Specifically, tell the health care provider about your accident and the injuries that resulted from it, and then follow your doctor or health care professional's advice. Be honest about your injuries and get good care for them from health care professionals.
Sometimes, people have a strong adrenaline surge and feel fine after a crash and even tell the police they are not hurt. Then, hours later or a day later, they begin feeling the symptoms of injury. If that occurs, seek appropriate medical care for such injuries so that they can heal properly. If the health care professionals think you should remain out of work, ask them for an out of work slip. (Do not give that slip away to your employer!)
Take photographs.
If you have a camera, it is important to get photographs of the wrecked vehicles, accident scene, etc. Obviously, do not take photographs of others who are injured. But it is important to document the crash - - the damage to each vehicle, road debris, and other evidence that will be lost in the hours following the collision.
Since this is the age of cell phones with cameras, it is not too difficult to snap off several photographs. If you are too hurt to do this or do not have a camera, make sure that you or a trusted friend or family member takes digital photographs of the wrecked vehicle involved.
Also, take photographs of your injuries as they progress and heal. Photographs are strong evidence of what occurred and obliterate untrue statements like "that accident shouldn't have caused any injury" or some jurors deep-seated doubts like "I doubt anyone would have been injured in the kind of accident described by the defense attorney."
After they settle the property damage claim, which is usually within a month or so of the collision, liability insurance carriers routinely have the wrecked vehicles sold for salvage. Without photographs, you will have no strong evidence of hard impact and your case will be more difficult to prove to doubtful jurors and skeptical insurance claims personnel.
Call your insurer.
As soon as you are able, call your insurer and make sure they create an accident report for your accident. When you hire our law firm, we will make sure to notify the at-fault driver's insurance carrier of the accident on your behalf. We can discuss how this accident will affect your insurance rates. (When the accident is not your fault, it rarely has any effect on your insurance coverage or rates.)
Call your employer.
As soon as you are able, call your employer to let them know that you have been involved in an accident, you were injured, you sought medical care and the medical care professionals have instructed you to not return to work. Let them know that you will provide them with the "out of work" slip when you are well and able. Do not give them your out of work slip; give them a copy of it, but you should always keep the original for your records. It will be needed to document lost time from work and support your claim.
Gather information.
Make a written list of the people at the accident scene. (We will need people's names, addresses, and telephone numbers and something that will help you explain what they should know for our use later.) Keep a list of all health care visits including date of visit and health care provider.
Get the accident report.
In almost all motor vehicle accidents where the police are called, they prepare an accident report and will release a copy of it to you after it is completed. Sometimes it takes them more than a couple days to complete the accident report. That accident report is often nearly as important as the photographs of the wrecked vehicles and any injuries.
Do not sign anything. Do not give any recorded statements.
If an insurance adjuster shows up or calls you on the telephone, do not give them a recorded statement and do not sign anything without first talking to our lawyers. Sadly, many insurance adjusters will make promises that they do not keep! Until you have spoken with a lawyer at Thomas, Ferguson & Mullins, L.L.P., do not sign anything and do not give any recorded statement to any insurance adjusters. You should have a lawyer look at anything that any insurance company gives you to sign. Too often, folks sign something that eliminates or severely limits their right to a fair recovery.
You have to remember that insurance agents and claims representatives are working for insurance companies, not for you. The objective of every claims representative is to pay out as little as possible and get the claim closed at the time of pay-out. If you are offered any "deal' by any insurance claims representative, please see a lawyer before deciding on it. Do not give any recorded statements to insurance companies until talking with a lawyer. Everything that is said will be used against you; nearly none of it will be used to help your case or to reach a fair resolution.
Contact us today for a FREE CONSULTATION.
If you have been injured, you will want a lawyer to make sure you are fairly compensated for your injuries and losses. The people at fault will have an insurance company, claims representatives and lawyers working on their side, you need lawyers working on your side. We want to help you!
Request a free consultation. Contact the lawyers at Thomas, Ferguson & Mullins, LLP by completing our FREE CONSULTATION REQUEST FORM or calling us toll free at 1 (888)-668-8253 or local calls (919) 682-5648. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to accept your case, we will work on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds.
Don't delay!
You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation for your injuries, but a lawsuit must be filed before the statute of limitations expires.
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