What You Should Do if You Were Injured in Traffic

With the rising number of automobile accidents, you are never sure if your journey will end well. These accidents are caused by rogue drivers, bad terrains, adverse weather conditions, unroadworthy vehicles, and intoxicated drivers. You might be the most careful driver out there, but the other party isn’t. What happens when injured on the road? You need to follow steps to ensure everyone gets safe, follow the law, and increase your chances of getting compensation. This article will discuss some of the crucial steps to take. Check on the list below.

1.  Stop, Check for Injuries

The first move after an accident is to stop and check for injuries. Saving individuals’ lives come first, and it’s important to check yourself out and others to see if they are okay. If injured or someone else is in severe injuries, it’s better to call 911 to ask for help. If you or anyone else is in a bad state, let them not move and wait for the emergency team to attend to them. Checking on the injuries and ensuring everyone is safe reduces injuries and saves lives. What if there are no injuries? In matters concerning life, you don’t assume about injuries. It’s better to get to the hospital and have some checkups done to determine your condition, including internal injuries. Never fail to stop during an accident, which may put you in a worse situation under the law.

2.  Get to Safety and Call the Police

Get to Safety and Call the Police

It might be you had a crash in the middle of the road. It’s better to get out of the vehicle, if you can, and rush to a safer place. You can move on the side of the road or pedestrian way and ask for help. Should I move the car? Unless your vehicle is causing unnecessary hazards, you should not move it an inch since this will interfere with the evidence. After finding a safer place, call 911 and report the accident. The police will come and take note of the accident and write down a police report. According to this car accident lawyer Phenix, it’s the police report that matters most when seeking justice and compensation. It highlights the occurrence of the accident, steps you took and also determines who is at fault. Without the police report, you might not claim compensation. What if there are fewer injuries and police fail to come? In any situation, you need to rush to the police station and report the accident before attending other duties. Failing to report an accident is deemed as an offense.

3.  Document the Accident

Documenting the accident is necessary if you are not at fault and want to seek compensation for damages and injuries. First, it’s important to get the police report, identify the officers and get their badge number. The insurer might need all these details. Other than the police report, it is necessary to get details of the accident scene, including taking photos of the accident scene, the vehicles, surroundings, and recording the witnesses’ narratives. You have to note down the names of individuals involved in the accident, including their phone numbers, physical addresses, and, if possible, their photos. Lastly, you have to interview the witnesses. You can note their narration, record their accounts, take their names, and have their contact details. All these will help you when filing your compensation case.

4.  Get Yourself a Lawyer

You will want to seek compensation for injuries or damages suffered during an accident. In the same case, your defendant will have a strong defense to have your compensation case nullified. Whether you are a complaint or a defendant of the case, it’s important to have a lawyer represent you when matters hit the court. What does an attorney do? The attorney will help you gather more evidence, including getting the police report, the medical information, and the other driver’s driving history. They will help you in processing claims until when you are compensated. The lawyer will also take your case to court if the insurance company fails to pay you as required.

5.  Notify the Insurer and Claim for Compensation

Sometimes, it’s important to call the insurance agent while at the accident scene to give you a procedure on what you need to do for compensation. However, accident scenes leave everyone devastated, and this call never happens. Following the above processes will give you a way of notifying the insurance agent and ask them how to apply for your compensation. Your attorney should guide you on this since they are skilled and experienced in the same. They will calculate the compensation amount and see you getting compensated until the last penny. What if the insurance company fails to compensate me? Your attorney will forward the matter to a court of law.

We all never wish to get into an accident. But when the worst happens, it’s important to take the right steps to ensure you don’t suffer more injuries and increase your chances of getting compensated. It is important to follow the highlighted processes and get a competent lawyer who will ensure the procedures are followed until the case is complete.