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No one likes being involved in a car accident, especially when they’re running late or they’re with a passenger. However, it can be challenging to dodge away from a car accident due to various reasons. While you might be trying to follow the traffic rules and safe driving, if the other people on the road might want to create their own rules, it can cause a car accident.
If you ever find yourself in a car accident, you need to be aware of what you need to do right away and how you can get the compensation you deserve from the insurance company or the other party involved. You can check different reports online or see PT Law KC’s article and be aware of the kinds of compensation you could get.
Moreover, you shouldn’t forget to do the necessary things when you’re involved in a car accident.
Things To Do After A Car Accident
Don’t Leave The Scene
Once you’ve been in a car accident, you should never leave the scene and stay in the area, even if it’s just a minor accident.
When you choose to drive away from the scene, it’ll only give an impression that you’re at fault and you’re trying to escape the authorities. While you may think that it’s not a big deal since it’s just a tiny bump that you can look past on, it’ll be taken differently by the other party, including the law enforcement.
Check For Injuries
Before you leave your vehicle to inspect the damages to your car, you should check first everyone’s safety inside and check for any possible injuries. You should be inspecting yourself in the mirror and look for any potential damages on your head, including any presence of blood.
If one of the passengers is injured, you should immediately call for help to ask for assistance to bring the injured person to the nearest hospital to get proper treatment. Apart from instant attention to the injured person, when you immediately bring the person to the nearest hospital, there’ll be a higher chance that the insurance company will reimburse your hospital bills, allowing you to save money. Also, when you visit a hospital immediately, you may address common hidden injuries after a car accident.
When you delay your hospital trip, you’d only be decreasing your chances of getting a reimbursement. The insurance company could debate that the injury didn’t happen from the car accident but rather from a different event. You just want to get paid for it. With that, you need to head to the hospital right away.
Call The Authorities
Even if no one gets injured inside the vehicle, you should still call the police so they could further assess the next steps in your case.
Before you can apply for a claim with your insurance company, you’ll need to have a formal police report so they could’ve proper documentation about the incident and would consider it as valid documentation and not just a mere story-tell from a client.
After calling the police, you should always try to stay in position unless you’re interfering with traffic. It’ll be best if you could move to the side of the road and allow other vehicles to pass by.
Take Photos
After confirming that everyone is safe inside your vehicle or you’ve already called for help, you should proceed to step out of your car and check for damages. While you may be frustrated with the new dents and scratches of your car, you shouldn’t forget to take photos of the accident so you could have valid evidence about the damages.
Ideally, you should take a photograph of the damages in your car, along with the whole photo involving every vehicle and the exact location where it happened. In this way, you can have strong evidence about your case in case it turns around.
Limit Your Conversations
Before the authorities arrive, you should limit your conversations as the opposing party can use your own words against you. Ideally, you shouldn’t admit your fault or liability as it’ll only decrease your chances of winning the case along with getting reimbursed from your insurance company.
You should only provide the full details of the incident with the police officers and the medical staff. If you have your car accident attorney, they should be the only one you should provide complete detail of the incident, and they should be speaking for you until the end.
While you may want to trust your insurance company about the details of the event, if the opposing party doesn’t have their insurance company to cover them, you’re required by law to give a part of yours to them. This can enable your insurance company to limit your reimbursement amount as they’re handling two clients at once.
Conclusion
Even if you practice safe driving, there’ll still be chances of being caught in between a car accident, and you should be aware of the things you need to do.
No matter how inconvenient it is or how much you’re running late to an event, you shouldn’t leave the scenario as it’ll put you in a bad light. Along with this, you should always check for everyone to confirm any existing injury so you could immediately call for help. Above all, never admit any fault until the authorities or your lawyer arrives.
