Being in an accident is never fun. You have to deal with the aftermath of not only your car but your body as well. After a while you will need to get back on the road and start driving again. It would be best if you took precautions to save your life and those of others and increase your chances of getting compensated.
This article talks about 6 things that you should do after being involved in an accident to be a little easier for you. Check on the list below.
Table of Contents
Stay Calm and Assess the Situation
Do not panic and try to assess the situation. If you are in shock, then it is alright but do not stay too long at the spot as it can be dangerous, especially if there were other cars involved in the accident or an explosion of something else that might hurt you. The first thing that needs to be done after being hit by another car is to check if you are okay.
Do not leave the scene of the accident without calling for help as your injuries can get worse and also, call 911 or ask someone else nearby to make a phone call so that help is sent immediately. This would save lives, especially if there were an explosion, fire, or something going on with other people involved in the accident.
Call 911 or Your Local Emergency Number
Call 911 or your local emergency number and tell them that you have been involved in an accident. You need to give details such as where you are, how many people were injured (including yourself), what kind of injuries they sustained (if any), along with other information like whether there is a fire, etc. If needed, then stay on the line and answer any questions that the emergency staff might have.
Do not leave the scene of an accident! It is illegal, and you will have to pay a fine and go through legal proceedings. Even if you are injured, you must stay on the spot because if there was another person involved, they might need your assistance if more damage has been done or anything else needs to be addressed.
Take Pictures of the Scene
Taking pictures of the scene before anything is moved or changed will help if there are any disputes later on. In line with this Gainesville car accident lawyer, taking these pictures enables you to have a concrete case when seeking compensation for the injuries. While people who have been involved in an accident do not take pictures because they are either too busy trying to receive medical attention or maybe just panicking, it is important to pull yourself together and start snapping away with your phone.
Be sure to get the license plates of all vehicles involved in the accident. If there are any other documents that you might need, then make sure to take them too. You can use the picture of these items and show it on your phone so that they do not get damaged in case something goes wrong later on with anything else related to the accident.
Seek Medical Attention
Do not leave the scene of an accident without seeking medical attention. Even though it might seem like nothing has happened and there are no injuries, then perhaps you are just in shock, or maybe something else more serious will come up later on, such as internal bleeding, etc. Leaving the spot even with small cuts can put you at risk of more serious injuries down the line.
The best thing is to get yourself checked out by a professional and then go from there, depending on what they say. Also, be sure that if your injury requires surgery or anything else along with it, then let them know this beforehand as well so that everything can run smoothly in case something else needs to be done.
Contact Your Insurance Company
After being involved in an accident, you must contact your insurance company to tell them what happened. It does not matter if the other person’s insurance was supposed to be covering everything or if they have already left the scene of the accident- you still need to inform yours as well because there might be a chance you need to deal with their insurance instead.
This will save a lot of trouble if more damage has been done, and it also helps if the other person’s insurance is not dealing properly with the situation. Contacting your own insurance company might take a little bit longer, but they are likely to be better equipped for this kind of thing than anyone else because they deal with these types of situations every single day.
Contact Your Lawyer
If you have been injured and need to seek medical assistance, then you must contact your lawyer as soon as possible. They will help get all the right information across so that they can start working on a case immediately because time might be of the essence- especially if there are critical injuries involved or something else needs to happen very quickly, like getting the right treatment or surgery.
You should always get in touch with your lawyer before you even think about talking to anyone else involved because they will help you through it all, especially if there has been a big change like death and loss of property.
As you can see, there are many steps to take after a car accident. Make sure that you stay calm and assess the situation before making any rash decisions. Once again, we hope this article has helped teach you what to do when involved in an automobile collision.
Featured Image by Valter Cirillo from Pixabay
