What can I expect to happen after a car accident?

What happens after a car accident is a question many people ask. The reality is that many people are not prepared for what happens when they are involved in an accident. Being prepared can help you in determining if you need to file a claim or if your insurance adjuster is being fair in the negotiations that will follow after the accident.

The first and most important thing to do after a car accident is to check the people involved for any injuries. A medical attention crew should be called to the scene within approximately 15 minutes of the crash. Even if you don’t feel like you’ve been injured, you should get checked out by medical professionals. The shock of an accident can desensitize you to injuries, but the symptoms of injuries like whiplash may come on unexpectedly hours, days, or even weeks later. The next step is to start gathering as much evidence as you possibly can. 

How Do I Gather Evidence After an Accident?

Gathering evidence is very important. You will want to gather as much information as possible, especially if the other driver has left the scene without providing you with any evidence. You will also want to speak with the other driver to get a statement of events and collect their information. This is information that can later be used against them by the other driver’s insurance company if it turns out their statements were untrue. 

Get videos and photos of the accident scene, any road signs or traffic signals, vehicles around the accident, possible witnesses, and other things that you think may be helpful in proving a case. Keep track of all records of medical treatments, as well. Do your best to gather as much information as possible because it will be very important later on.

Do I Contact my Insurance First or an Accident Attorney?

While insurance companies often say they are on your side, when you’ve been involved in an accident, they will do everything they can to pay the smallest figure possible. If you contact insurance companies before you speak with your lawyer, they will gather evidence against you to use against you when processing your claim. 

While you need to immediately report an accident to your insurance, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible. There are many things that will come into play when you contact an attorney. First of all, you will have to give them your contact information. Then, you will have to give them all of your valuable evidence.

The medical records will be extremely valuable evidence for or against you. A police report will also help your case, but a medical record can be far more valuable. Your medical records can include things like a broken bone found in your hand, a fracture that caused a bone to break in your hand, and other injuries that were caused by the accident. The more severe your injuries the more valuable this evidence can be for your claim.

Do I Need to Contact Police After an Accident?

You will need to contact the police so they can collect evidence on the scene of the accident. Remember, these crash sites are usually cases. This means that the place where the accident took place may have blood or other stains on the roadway, or may be filled with debris. Collecting this evidence when you are there will help your lawyer to create a strong case against the other driver.

Once the police report has been filed, you can contact your insurance company and the attorney you hired for your claim. Make sure you keep track of what each of them tells you. You will need to get a copy of the police report, as well. You will then need to contact them and ask for proof that the other driver is liable for the accident. You should have photographic proof, police report copies, and other information that relates to the accident as well. You will need to show the insurance company and your attorney that you were not at fault for the accident and that the physical injuries you suffered justify the claim you’re making.

What will an Attorney do After a Car Accident?

Some key roles that an experienced law firm will play after you have been injured in an accident are: gathering evidence and providing legal advice for you and any passengers in your vehicle. When you contact an attorney to handle this matter, it is important to give them a detailed description of what happened. After you give them all of your evidence, they will sort through everything to determine if you have a strong case. 

Trying to resolve compensation issues after a car accident is not something you should do on your own. It is much better to have an experienced car accident attorney on your side. At Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd, we’ve successfully recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients. Contact us online today or call us at (866) 460-1990 to privately discuss your case right over the phone or via a video conference call from the comfort of your home or hospital room.