Getting into a car accident is something that no one enjoys. It happens unexpectedly, there is damage to your vehicle, and worse, you or someone else involved may be injured. The event occurs so quickly, that it can make you confused and unsure what to do. If this happens to you, there are a few simple things that you need to do whenever you get into a car accident.
First, you want to make sure you and anyone else there is not seriously injured. This is the top priority. If you suspect you or someone else has a serious injury, immediately call an ambulance. If, after an examination, you don’t think you or anyone else is seriously injured, you can go about handling the accident.
After for checking for injuries, you should call your local police. They will come to the scene and write up a report about what happened. This is important when it comes to insurance claims, and you are going to want an official report on record. The police can help to sort everything out, and ensure that you have gotten everything you need from the other party.
While you are waiting for the police to arrive, you should be swapping information with any other parties involved in the accident. Get their contact information, along with their insurance information. Write this all down and keep it in a safe place, as you are probably going to need it later. Another good thing to do while waiting for the police is to take pictures of the accident with your mobile phone. Having some pictures to back up what happened is a very good idea, so take as many as you can from different angles. If there is anything nearby that may have caused the accident (say, a covered stop sign), take pictures of this as well.
Once you are done with all of this, and the police have come and finished their work, you may want to take a trip to the doctor, just to be on the safe side. If you suspect any kind of injury at all, getting it looked at now is essential. You don’t want to find out in a week that you’ve been injured, as it will be hard to claim it came from the accident. Get a full check up just to be on the safe side, that way if there is anything wrong, you can attribute it to the accident.
Lastly, in some cases with car accidents, there are going to be special circumstances. If someone was drunk while driving, they were missing their license, or if someone was seriously injured, you may need to involve a lawyer. If you end up needing a lawyer, you will want to look for either a personal injury lawyer, or a lawyer that specializes in something like DUIs or car accidents. They will have the most knowledge about this type of situation. If money is tight, look for a lawyer from the lowest possible tier to save yourself some money.
When it comes to a car accident, the most important thing is personal safety and health – the damage to your car comes second. Get everything situated with yourself first, then worry about your car. Your accident may end up being very expensive, but it is still not more important than your well being. So the next time you get into an accident, take a deep breath, then remember the guidelines we mentioned above.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
