An auto accident is never planned or intended, but that doesn’t mean you won’t ever find yourself involved in one. Each year in the U.S. there are over 6 billion car accidents, and some result in minor injuries while others result in more serious injuries. Approximately 391,000 people saw injuries from car accidents caused by distracted drivers in the year 2015.This means that no matter whether you want to be involved in one, chances are you will be at one point or another. Everyone thinks the worse then they think of car accident, but most are not that bad. Whether you find yourself involved in a major accident or a minor one, you could quickly find that you also need an auto accident attorney. Knowing what to do after auto accident can help you prepare and have all necessary information and documentation in the event that you do find yourself needed representation.
Injuries
The first thing you should do after being involved in an auto accident is check yourself and other passengers of your vehicle for injuries. Check to make sure all occupants can exit the vehicle. Inspect for signs of injury and notify emergency personnel if injuries are present.
Stay Put
Don’t leave the scene after an accident. Stay put and wait for emergency personnel to arrive. Even if no one was injured police should arrive and it’s important to keep everything the way it was when the accident occurred.
Make Calls
Call the police if they have not already been notified. Call your insurance company to let them know what you were involved in an accident. Make any other phone calls that you need to so once police show up you can focus solely on that.
Exchange Insurance
Exchange insurance information with the other driver. This step will be important for you to keep with other important paperwork from your wreck. Be polite and courteous with the other driver, but never admit fault. Just exchange information so you have theirs and they have yours.
Witnesses
Get the names and number of any witnesses. Get as much contact information as possible and make sure that it is fine if they are contacted at a later date if need be. These witnesses may be necessary if you find that you need to hire an auto accident attorney.
Take Pictures
Take as many pictures as possible with your smart phone. Include other cars, their license plates, positions of the cars, etc. Make sure to focus on the damage to your vehicle. Also make note of traffic signs, warning signs, or caution signs that may have been ignored which could’ve contributed to the accident.
Accident Form
If you have or are given an accident form, fill in as much information as possible. Sometimes the police fill this in, so you just need to make sure important information is included. Things like date and time, weather and traffic and what emergency services were needed are important things that should be on the accident report or accident form. If an auto accident attorney is needed this piece of paper will be important.
Medical Treatment
Many times after an accident people realize the next day that they could be injured when the didn’t feel it when the accident occurred. No matter when you feel like you need medical attention, whether right after the accident or the day after, keep your medical records. If you need an accident lawyer these are some things that could be reimbursed along with missed wages from work.
It is important to remember that just because you decide to hire an auto accident lawyer does not mean that you will have to go to court. Many cases never see the inside of a court room, roughly four out of five cases are settled out of court. This means having an experience auto accident attorney on your side can benefit you by helping you get what is yours and helping keep you out of court. Anytime you’ve been invovled in an automobile accident, consider what an attorney could do for you.