While resolving your personal injury claim can take years after an accident, ensuring that you receive the rightful compensation can be done in the first few hours or days. The steps you take in those first few moments have the ability to completely switch your case around. Making the right decisions at that time increases your chances of recovery, whereas the wrong decisions would only risk your case and may lead you to lose your compensation.
This is why you need to be really careful when it comes to your next actions after being involved in a car accident. Thankfully, we have this guide for you to explain all the steps you need to take in order to protect your rights after going through a road accident, keep reading.
Report the Accident to the Police
Your first step should be to contact the police and report the accident as soon as possible. You need the police to be the first to arrive so that they can note down the evidence from the accident scene. This is also important so that they can obtain the required statements from the involved parties.
Make sure not to give out any statements accepting responsibility for what happened in the accident, you only need to explain what happened clearly without placing blame. Finally, aim to write down the name and badge number of the officer who showed up to investigate the accident scene so that you can get a copy of the report later on when you need it.
Get Medical Help
Another extremely important factor for personal injury claims is medical documentation. After getting injured in a car wreck, your biggest concern should be to receive medical assistance. Not just to protect your health and well-being, but also to ensure your legal rights and be prepared with the needed medical proof. This is why you need to see a doctor after a car accident even if you don’t feel like your injuries are serious enough.
When you miss out on medical treatment, you put your personal injury claim in jeopardy risking the rightful compensation you deserve for your hardships. You also put yourself in a position where the defendant can accuse you of exaggerating your losses that resulted from the accident.
Talk to a Lawyer
A lawyer is the best person you can speak with to protect your legal rights after getting involved in a road accident. A skilled personal injury attorney can help you file for compensation as well as respond to legal accusations if the other driver claims that the accident is your fault. They can also investigate the circumstances of the crash attempting to back up your claim in order to resolve it through a settlement.
Even the settlements they propose don’t work out, your personal injury attorney can file a lawsuit and take your case to trial. In all cases, you have to ensure you work with a skilled lawyer with a respectable reputation to get the best results and guarantee your legal rights.
Document the Scene
The accident scene you get involved in is not going to last forever, so you need to act quickly and pay attention to your surroundings before leaving. Focus on obtaining as much evidence as possible because you will need every piece of evidence in court. Include as many photographs as possible containing pictures of the vehicles after the crash along with a few photos of the injuries resulting from the crash. Pictures of your injuries are going to be really valuable at court when you need to prove the losses you experienced as a result of someone else’s negligence.
Get the Witnesses’ Contact details
The testimonies provided by the accident witnesses can serve as a very crucial piece of evidence in your injury claim. This is why you have to talk to the accident witnesses and make sure to get their personal information and contact details. As a side note, you must remember to ask these witnesses for their consent on being contacted by the police or by your lawyer to provide testimonies.
You should inform them that an insurance agent, or perhaps your personal injury attorney would be contacting them for their statements. However, you would still need to listen to and review the testimonies before representing them at court to make sure they don’t damage your case or mention anything that may jeopardize your statements.
Road accidents are terrifying and shocking events that can leave you in a state where you don’t know where to start. It’s important to remain calm in situations like this in order to make the right decisions and prioritize your personal wellbeing. That being said, always remember to contact the authorities first, followed by an attempt to seek medical help so that you can legally document your injuries and protect your legal rights.