What to do when you’ve been in a car accident
With roughly half a million car accidents reported every year in Texas, chances are you will eventually find yourself involved in a car accident. Whether you were at fault or not, it is important to take immediate steps to protect yourself. Car accidents can often turn litigious, especially if someone involved was injured. When on the day of the accident, everyone involved seemed to agree on how everything happened; now, several months later, stories have changed, and people disagree on who was at fault. Without knowing how to protect yourself, you can find yourself in a very difficult position before you even consider hiring a lawyer.
You need to take action in protecting yourself immediately following a motor vehicle collision. You need to take steps starting at the scene of a collision to put yourself in the best position to protect yourself and your interest from a legal standpoint.
Health
Health is the most important concern after an accident. After an accident, take a moment to check yourself to make sure you are okay. A car accident is a stressful experience. Your body may be releasing adrenaline, which may make it difficult to know right away if you are hurt. Pain isn’t the only symptom that can indicate something is wrong. Any lightheadedness, dizziness, gaps in memory, numbness, electric tingling sensations, burning sensations, or feeling like you may faint could also be caused by the accident.
Injuries from car accidents are not always felt the moment the collision happens. Often you may not feel injured until later that day, or even the next day. Pay attention to your body over the next few days following a car accident. New pains, aches, or soreness can be from the accident, even if they pop up a few hours, or even a few days after the accident. If you have any concerns about your health following an accident, don’t hesitate to seek medical attention.
Don’t think that just because your injuries don’t manifest until the next day that you aren’t entitled to compensation. Consult with an attorney as soon as possible if you are injured in an accident.
Evidence
Consider this hypothetical situation: You’re in an accident caused by another driver and that driver has apologized and given you their insurance information.
Sept 1: Call their insurance company
You may think everything is fine and that you have all you need. You will call their insurance company. The insurance company will accept liability and pay any and all bills that you incur as a result of the accident their insured caused. While this is perhaps how it should work, it often doesn’t work this way. You may find that after you call the insurance company, the other driver told a very different story than how you remember everything happening. The insurance company is telling you that the other driver is saying you are at fault. The insurance company asks for any evidence you have that their insured is at fault. At this point you realize, all you have is your story. Many times, an accident can become a “he said, she said” accident. Both drivers point the blame at the other driver, and neither has any other evidence to support their position. Once you leave the scene of the accident, you are leaving one of your best opportunities to gather evidence that you may need later.
Step 2: Gather evidence
After a car accident, once you are certain that you don’t need medical attention, it is time to gather evidence. One of the most important things you can do it to take pictures. Ideally, take pictures before you move the cars. Take pictures of how the cars are positioned, which will help show how the collision happened. Take pictures of the damage to the cars. Take a picture of the license plate of all other vehicles involved in the accident. Take pictures of street signs, road conditions, traffic control devices, or anything else that may even have a chance at being relevant to how the car accident happened.
Another important thing to take a picture of is the driver’s license and insurance information of every vehicle involved in the accident. You don’t know who the driver of the car is. They might be the same person who is listed on the insurance, or who is registered as the owner of the vehicle. They also could be someone entirely different. They could be a friend or relative driving the car. You need to know the identity of the driver in case you need to file a lawsuit. The information on the driver’s license is extremely important.
While taking pictures, see if there were any witnesses to the collision. Try to find someone who saw what happened. Ask for their name and contact information, or even if they will wait until the police arrive to give a statement. A witness statement in your favor can really help establish that the other driver was at fault. Don’t be shy in looking for witnesses. If there was someone on the side of the road, walk up to them and ask if they saw what happened. People may hesitate to walk over and let you know they saw what happened. They may not even realize their statement could be important. Take the initiative and look for witnesses.
Step 3: Call the police
Call the police. Even if it seems like a minor accident, call. Police will write up a crash report to state what they saw at the scene, and what the drivers said happened. Police will ask the other driver for their statement, which will lock them into a version of the story. You will know then and there whether they are admitting fault to the police or denying it. Police can also look at evidence around the scene and draw impressions from what they see. Police can also talk to witnesses at the scene and get their statements as well. Police are often busy and may take a long time to arrive at the scene of the collision. The best option is to wait. A police report can be a very helpful piece of evidence. If for some reason you cannot wait, or the other driver doesn’t want to wait, see if they will be willing to make a statement on video. Take out you phone and record their statement. While the other driver doesn’t have to comply, many may be willing to comply if it means not waiting for police to arrive.
A collision in an intersection where one driver had the green light, and one had the red light seems simple enough. The driver with the red light is at fault. But which driver is the one with the red light? You may know the answer, but not everyone will. If both drivers say they had the green light, how do we know who is telling the truth? Maybe the other driver tried to change lanes and sideswiped your vehicle. That driver may admit fault at the scene but deny it later. How do we tell which of you changed lanes and hit the other? Expensive experts may be able to help answer that question, but so may a simple picture of the vehicles at the scene, or a witness corroborating your story, or a video recording of the other driver admitting fault at the scene. The important thing to take away from this is that while it may be clear to you who is at fault, you need to think about trying to prove your version of events to a stranger who doesn’t know you and who wasn’t there. Take immediate steps at the scene of the accident to gather as much evidence as you can. It could make your life much easier down the road.
If you have been injured in an automobile collision, be sure to consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Insurance companies are not your friends. They do not want to pay you. Insurance is a business. Their goal is to make as much profit as possible. If they can avoid paying you, they will. Make sure you have proper representation to guide you through this process. Every case is different and comes with its own unique issues. While this article can provide prudent tips on what to do immediately following a collision in general, it is no substitute for an attorney guiding you through the nuances in your unique case.
