Following a car accident, it’s easy for things to become chaotic. Therefore, you’ll probably be thinking about how exactly you should handle the situation. The fact that you are dealing with unpleasant injuries, automobile damage, and communicating with the other driver about what happened may make this a difficult scenario. The steps you take after a car accident are quite important.
In this article, we will discuss what you should do the day after an automobile accident, including the day the accident occurred, based on recommendations from Dolinsky Law Group Knoxville TN.
Reader's Roadmap
Stop Your Vehicle and Assess the Damage
When an accident occurs, the first thing you should do is stop your car. Check to see whether you or anybody else in your car has been injured. If you or someone else has suffered a serious injury, contact 911 right away to get emergency help.
To avoid impeding traffic in small incidents, pull to the nearest shoulder or a safe location. If you are unable to do so, try to remain in the traffic lane and avoid stepping out into traffic.
Examine the scene for signs of injury, fatalities, or property damage when all vehicles have stopped.
File a Police Report
When the police arrive, you should answer the questions they ask so that they may file a complaint with the authorities. Try to remain calm and recount what happened. Tell the truth first and foremost. Make sure to collect the name and badge number of every police officer you talk with so you can keep track of them. To have the information readily available to communicate with your insurance company, ask the officers who responded to the incident for the police report number and a copy of the report.
If the police are not summoned to the scene of the accident, you may file a report at the local police station on your own. You may also submit a report to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on the accident.
Check for Injuries
When you are involved in a vehicle accident, the health and safety of yourself, your passengers, and anybody else involved in the accident should always be your priority. First, discover if anybody has been injured and may need medical care. When you are engaged in a collision with another vehicle, it is critical to ensure that the driver and passengers are safe. Even small automobile accidents may cause injuries that need medical treatment. Even if it was a minor accident, you should not assume that everyone is completely well.
Exchange Insurance and Contact Information
Confirm the identities of the other motorists involved in the crash, and get their names, contact information, driver’s license numbers, and vehicle insurance information. If the individual driving the car is not the owner, you should get the owner’s contact information. Take a picture of the other driver’s license and insurance card and send it to yourself via email or text message. This may help you prevent transcribing errors or losing critical information.
Make sure to get the names and contact information of any witnesses who may be present. Your insurance company or attorney may seek their testimony to confirm your account of what transpired.
Keep Detailed Records
Keep thorough notes of your medical treatment, including the names of your doctors and any drugs you’ve been given. If you have to take time off work as a result of the accident, be sure you record those days. Also, keep note of any out-of-pocket expenditures associated with the incident.
Gather Evidence
It may be incredibly advantageous to your case if you can snap images of the accident scene while you are there. These images should show the state of the highway, any subsequent property damage, and any injuries that the cars involved in the incident may have sustained. If there are any witnesses present, try to contact them and get their information. As soon as possible after the incident, you should make a note of any information that you believe will be useful to you. This includes the weather and traffic conditions that were present at the time, in addition to your comments on how the incident took place.
Call a Car Accident Lawyer
You should always consult a seasoned attorney before submitting a claim, especially before agreeing to meet with the insurance company of the at-fault motorist. Your attorney will handle most of the phone calls and paperwork. You won’t have to deal with the insurance company’s negotiating tactics by yourself because of this. Your health and the health of your loved ones should be your top priorities. On top of that, a lawyer may help you make sure you aren’t solely responsible for the remaining part of your claim.