If you were involved in a car wreck, the following is a short list of things to do/consider to protect your interests:
1) If there was an injury, the first thing you need to do is seek medical treatment. If you are unsure if you are injured, it is smart to seek medical treatment to get checked out. Many people, do not discover they are injured until days or weeks after an accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies will treat your failure to seek medical treatment “immediately” as an excuse to not compensate you fairly. If in fact you did suffer an injury that does not become painful until days or weeks later, insurance companies will treat you as if you are trying to game the system and you will be left with ever increasing medical expenses. Be cautious, seek medical treatment immediately.
2) Get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the witnesses as soon as possible, and save them (on paper, in your phone, etc.)
You would be surprised at how many times stories change after a couple days or weeks. The person that was texting and rear-ended you, now claims you slammed on your brakes or didn’t apply your blinker.
Gather your witnesses, and keep their information safe and current.
3) Take photographs of all of the vehicles involved.
Take pictures of the damage to your car. The insurance company will take pictures to try to show that there is minor or no damage. Insurance companies know that if they can show a jury that your automobile had little or no damage, that they can convince a jury that the impact was so minor that nobody should have been hurt.
4) Take photographs of any bruising, cuts, injury.
5) Don’t give a recorded statement to the insurance company.
Do not make the mistake of thinking the insurance company will do the right thing. Many of my clients call me after the insurance company offers them less than the full value of the medical expenses because the client talked to the insurance company and described the impact as minor.
6) Call the police to the scene, order a police report. In some places, police won’t come to an accident scene unless there is an injury. If you feel any discomfort or pain, you have may have an injury. You need a report taken, and a record of what happened.
7) If you have suffered injury or feeling pain/discomfort in any way, see a doctor immediately. If you cannot afford a doctor, we can find you one in your area. The pain and/or injury could simply go away and if so at least you have peace of mind. If it is more serious, you can be on the road to recovery.
8) Document your missed time from work.
Many people are not in enough pain to miss work. Others have no choice but to work and provide for their family. However, if you are forced to miss work because of your pain or medical appointments make sure to document the dates and times you missed. You should be compensated for your losses.
9) Seek a lawyer. Not everybody needs to file a lawsuit but a personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the process of getting you fairly compensated.